The Variable
by Kitsunedon
Summary: A variable, no matter who or what it is, will always change the results of anything when introduced. Be it a trivial equation or even the entire world, the undeniable truth was that as long as the variable had a value, it would change the things around it. Therefore, Nepgear knew that her existence and her sword would change this new world no matter what. She just didn't know how.
1. Chapter 1- Prologue: An End

Gamindustri was finally silent.

The Conquest that Nepgear had started finally came to an end.

The last of 'The Uprising' fell at Nepgear's feet, the blood pooling out with a finality.

It was IF.

The Gehaburn absorbed her essence, breathing softly and happily as it accepted the sacrifice.

Yet, Nepgear wanted to reject it.

Blood stained Nepgear's dress, soul and being.

As the body of her once close friend IF fell, Nepgear felt something die within her.

Why had this happened?

She never knew why, but she had a hunch.

They were trying to destroy the Gehaburn, the only thing connecting Nepgear back to her sister, and the rest of the CPUs.

But then again, she was sure of that fact. How could it not be?

She hadn't done anything to them.

They had.

In truth, and to what she knew subconsciously; the world had already told her the reason.

"She became what she had tried to stop… the Deity of Sin."

Histoire had told 'The Uprising' that on the day that they began to stand up to rise against Nepgear… she, in her glory of 'everything' probably never saw their loss coming.

She also probably never saw the Gehaburn impaling her, and with that, she lost her life.

The being that was once Histoire now lived in the sword, her essence now powering the existence of all… and one.

You can know, but never truly accept. However, she was finally starting to understand that.

She had become the Deity of Sin. Even now, she could feel the fear of what was left of the people empowering her.

It was revolting.

And so, she sought out the rest of the people. To reassure them… she hoped.

However, she never saw their last stand coming either.

They all had to die. They were threatening her existence.

Nepgear sat on her purple throne.

The second-last of Gamindustri had finally fell to her blade.

And now, she was finally alone.

Truly.

The last… of Gamindustri.

Such a title fit her.

She was the last of the CPUs, the last of everything.

She could not even cry.

She had lost the ability to do so the day that her sister had died by her hands.

The essence of everything was in her sword, the Gehaburn.

Long ago, when she still had all of her friends… before the fight against Arfoire… Histoire had said…

"Arfoire used to be a human, with the ability to assimilate powers into her being. In order to protect her loved ones, she took the powers of the CPUs in order to fight. However, the power of the CPUs were not meant for humans, and so she was corrupted… into what you see now. The Deity of Sin. But if you slay her with that sword… she will be gone, forever… but…"

Her essence was in the Gehaburn, and in turn, Nepgear.

Nepgear had truly become the Deity of Sin.

Histoire had been saddened by the fight, but then again… everyone was.

No... it didn't matter anymore.

They had left her.

* * *

She had finally decided to do it.

There was nothing left to live for, after all.

She summoned the Gehaburn.

Dark purple rings formed around her right hand.

It was such a beautiful sword, but how it was created was never that way.

It was truly repulsive.

Nepgear closed her eyes, and shifted the blade towards her chest.

She pushed.

A hole was formed within her.

The world formed another.

It twisted and turned, the spine of the world finally reaching its end.

A collapse.

Nepgear's body fell to the ground.

She heard a familiar voice.

"So, in the end, the world had truly ended. Nepgear, my successor... I am sorry."

A voice she had heard many years ago, when she had fought **her**...

Nepgear smiled.

"It's alright. I'm getting my just desserts. It was my decision… after all."

She fell into the broken abyss.

Dark, it was.

Was there light?

She couldn't tell.

* * *

The moment she opened her eyes, she was falling.

Was this the world's way of telling her she could never end her suffering?

The sword was still through her chest.

She closed her eyes, to await the ground.

The ground soon came close, and she felt the impact.

She pulled the sword out of her chest.

There was no evidence of a fall, which was strange within itself.

And the sword…?

Its once foreboding purple light was now a calming blue.

How could it be? There was no way that it could have changed.

No, she felt empowered, by those that came before her.

"The sword never betrays its wielder. The sword only… is a tool for the wielder, and is nothing more, and nothing less."

She smiled once more.

* * *

She set the sword back into its unsummoned form, and walked.

This… place… greatly resembled Virtua Forest… but she had destroyed it as it was a base for 'The Uprising'… so why was it here, in pristine condition?

Nepgear ran through all possibilities through her mind.

"The possible reasons for this could be that… time turned back… or I'm in a separate dimension."

She hoped for the former.

If that was so, she could see her sister… her friends again.

If it was the latter...

No, she couldn't think that way.

It was best to be optimistic.

Since it was Virtua Forest, a place she knew like the back of her hand…

She was close… to Planeptune.

As she came to that realization, she knew that she had to move quickly.

Time was of the essence.

She began to run towards her home.

* * *

The city she once ruled over stood before her.

Pristine, shining in glory.

No, it wasn't what she ruled over.

It was decrepit.

It was full of pain.

This wasn't hers anymore.

She wasn't a part of this Planeptune.

She knew what was to be done.

As she turned back, she knew.

She didn't belong here.

She laughed in the silence.

The LAN Castle awaited her.

* * *

"Neptune! Why are you just sitting around and just doing nothing?! Planeptune is at its' all time low of 9% Shares!" Histoire shouted as loud as her vocal chords allowed.

"Eehhh… 9% is still better than nothing, right? I mean, it's still something…" Neptune remarked, her voice as low as it could get.

Out of all the goddesses, she was the only one who didn't get a CPU Candidate for a sister. She wished for one, but it could never happen.

"This is why I wish we had extra hands… if only if we had a CPU Candidate to share the workload with..." Histoire spoke, saddened at the sudden remembrance.

Neptune just couldn't find it in herself reply to that.

Ever since the rise in popularity of all of the other lands all those years ago, their shares inflated, and in turn… they birthed CPU Candidates.

Lowee got Rom and Ram.

Lastation got Uni.

Leanbox got Ciel.

And of course, Planeptune gained nothing.

Rom and Ram were cute in their own way, but they weren't exactly what Neptune looked for in little sisters.

Uni looked up to her sister as some kind of omnipotent being of sorts, and it irked her.

Ciel… was just mysterious, in a sense.

She had blonde hair just like Vert, but she was a little more… subdued than Vert… in terms of 'size' and pretty much everything else.

No matter what, she knew that it still wasn't what she wanted.

What she wanted was a sister she could dote on, and one that she could depend on as well. After all the other CPUs acquired sisters, and she... didn't.

They picked on her relentlessly on that fact.

And with time, she fell into depression.

With that depression her shares fell. She tried her utmost best to keep them up, but since she didn't have an extra pair of hands…

No matter what they tried or how much time they worked, it was difficult to manage the workload that had been placed upon them daily.

Histoire was a big help, but the stress would get to her head quickly.

Neptune always felt that, no matter what, the turmoil within her mind would never cease.

And so, with those thoughts, she stopped and awaited her end.

It just wasn't worth it any longer.

It just wasn't.

...It wasn't worth it.

* * *

Nepgear sat down in the end of the dungeon.

The LAN Castle was just as she remembered, the monsters and all.

She supposed it was counter-productive, what with Planeptune being so close by.

Some adventurer would probably come here and try to find some item, find her and think she was some damsel in distress… damn, she could actually see that happening.

She would probably kill him or her, though.

They would then file some 'missing person' case and send it to the Basilicom.

She sighed.

Why did she think that this was a good idea?

* * *

Days passed.

Her eyes seemed to rot with time.

Life didn't seem to be worth it.

She worked hard, and what?

12% Shares.

Leanbox had 28%, Lastation had 34% and Lowee had 26%.

It just wasn't fair.

Today's job was to search for something within the LAN Castle.

Some Magic Fragment, nothing too much.

It seemed to be easy.

Just like how failing at something was.

* * *

Nepgear's eyes narrowed.

Her senses had picked up on a familiar presence.

"The time has come, I suppose."

She picked herself up from the floor.

In a flurry of azure binary codes, she summoned the sword.

She didn't know what to name it.

It was no longer a sword that existed upon the power of the CPUs.

It now existed within the concept and power to protect…

The blue light breathed life into the room.

Thinking for a while, she finally came up with a name.

"The Sauvegarder. A good name for a good sword."

She wielded the now newly named Sauvegarder in her right hand, and waited.

* * *

Neptune hunched back even further. The item seemed to be in the deepest part of the LAN Castle.

In another flurry of purple binary codes, her katana was summoned.

"Why did I take this job…?"

Her level was labeled as 249, so the monsters were easy pickings.

"It's just," Neptune sighed, "not worth it, is it?"

She slaughtered the Ancient Dragon in one stroke of her blade.

"I wanted something, worked for it as hard as I could."

The Cat Knights fell in one quick blade swipe.

"And why, why didn't I get it?"

She stopped, and glared at the violet-haired girl that had an azure-beam-sword held in her right hand.

She wore a sailor-dress, with her nation's logo on it. She also wore pink and white stockings.

Neptune's katana was now pointed at the girl.

"Who are you?" She asked with a damning stare, the fiery rage that she had festered within her heart towards the world finally reaching its peak.

* * *

Neptune definitely wasn't what she thought she would be.

She still did have her hoodie and two D-Clips, but…

Her eyes spoke of depression, and her form was just hunched over.

The state of her katana, worn and weary…

It told her of the relentless struggle this Neptune had gone through.

This was truly different, and Nepgear was ready for it.

She began to speak.

"I am Nepgear, the CPU Candidate of Planeptune."

Neptune's eyes widened in shock.

A smile formed on Nepgear's face.


	2. Chapter 2- Present: Connection

Histoire stared at the newcomer, the violet-haired girl who greatly resembled Neptune.

She had just finished half of her share of the paperwork, and was waiting on Neptune to finish her quest so that they could continue on doing said paperwork.

But she didn't expect this new face to come back along with Neptune.

Who was she? She had never seen her before, and Neptune never tried to make friends…

Was she a Neptune fanatic?

It would make sense why she would dye her hair and dress like that.

Histoire stared at Neptune, before her eyes widened at Neptune's expression.

She was smiling, as if she were smitten.

This wasn't the Neptune she knew.

Histoire sighed, and opened her mouth.

"N-Neptune. Just who is this girl? We still need to finish up on our work, and we aren't really accepting visitors."

Neptune gave a bright smile in return, something that once again, greatly shocked Histoire.

"Well… she's Nepgear, the CPU Candidate of Planeptune! But not exactly, though."

"E-Excuse me?!"

Histoire was greatly surprised by this revelation, and recoiled backwards.

The lilac-haired girl stepped forward, and began to speak.

"I'd suppose it's time for introductions. My name is Nepgear, the 'CPU Candidate' of Planeptune. But not really, though."

Nepgear's face turned into one of guilt.

"W-What do you mean by not really?"

Histoire was still shocked by the entire situation unfolding before her.

What was going on?

"She means that she's the CPU Candidate of Planeptune from another dimension!"

Neptune's over-excited voice reverberated throughout the room, and Histoire was still rather appalled by this 'new' Neptune.

Silence befell the room as Histoire scrambled to keep her composure.

Thankfully, Nepgear began to speak.

"I have a story to tell… would you all like to listen…?"

Neptune stared at Nepgear, and smiled once again.

"Sure! Histy, let's all grab a chair and listen to what she has to say alright?"

Histoire's expression changed dramatically to a face-wide blush, her eyes widening.

"N-Neptune… did you just call me H-Histy?"

Neptune tilted her head.

"Yeah. Why?"

Histoire floated towards Neptune and took her hands in her own, her face turning redder by the minute.

"C-Could you call me that from now on?"

Neptune seemed rather surprised as well.

"E-Eh? S-Sure."

Nepgear's face was also turning red from this turn of events.

She was honestly not expecting something like this, but it was another dimension after all.

Nepgear coughed.

"A-Ahem… Can I begin?"

Neptune and Histoire broke apart, and they both blushed wildly.

Neptune looked down in embarrassment, and Histoire looked away, her face as red as a tomato.

"A-Alright, I'll begin on who I am and what I'm doing here I suppose. Like I said earlier, my name is Nepgear, the CPU Candidate of Planeptune… but of another dimension. However, that dimension has been destroyed, I think… by me," Nepgear coughed in embarassment, before she continued:

"Would you like to hear the reason? I just have one question though... are you ready?"

Neptune and Histoire seemed to give a nod to Nepgear, as if asking her to continue.

"How do I say this…? My actual title is the 'Deity of Sin'."

Histoire's eyes widened further at this revelation.

"The D-Deity of Sin?!"

Neptune tilted her head once more.

"What's this Deity of Sin title thingamajig?"

Histoire slammed her face into her palm.

"The Deity of Sin is what Arfoire's title was, remember? You fought her with the other CPUs a few decades ago…"

 _'When everything was fine…'_

Neptune took her right fist and hit it into her left open palm.

"Ah, yes… that's righ- **WAIT, WHAT?!** "

Neptune screamed in response to this revelation.

"Neptune. Calm down."

Neptune stopped as Histoire patted her down.

"Sorry, I panicked there. That fight was one of the worst ones in my life..."

Nepgear smiled softly, seemingly amused by Neptune's shenanigans.

"It's alright, I'll just continue. In my dimension, I fought the Deity of Sin, which Arfoire was back then, alone. The reason behind this was due to a sword…"

Nepgear stretched out her right hand, azure binary codes circling it.

The Sauvegarder appeared as the the codes faded.

"T-That sword?!"

Histoire was once again shocked by this turn of events.

"Yes, I'm assuming you know what this sword's original form is. The Gehaburn. We CPUs and CPU Candidates were at a loss, since we didn't know how to defeat Arfoire back then. We resorted to 'that' method."

Neptune shook her head, as if she didn't understand what was going on.

"What method?"

Histoire sighed.

"The Gehaburn has the power to kill any CPU and take her essence from their Share Crystal. The more it kills, the more powerful it gets. However… Nepgear's Gehaburn is absolutely without a doubt a different thing right now."

Neptune's eyes widened.

"S-So you killed all the CPUs and CPU Candidates, then?!"

Nepgear's eyes hardened.

"Yes. I did. Your counterpart even asked me to take her life instead of my own."

Neptune was at a loss.

"You must have gone through a lot then..."

Nepgear paused, seemingly thinking about something.

She began to speak again.

"That's not all, however… Since I was the last CPU standing, I had to unite all the lands into one flag… Planeptune."

With that simple statement, Histoire had figured out everything.

"By killing Arfoire, you absorbed her powers and became the Deity of Sin. The 'me' from your dimension should've known that. The people then rebelled, this knowledge somehow reaching their ears, and you killed them all."

Nepgear smiled in return, with a facial expression that was plagued with guilt and nostalgia.

"You truly are Planeptune's Oracle… Histoire. You are absolutely correct. I gain power from fear, since her powers overwrote mine."

Neptune shrugged, as if she didn't care what Nepgear's words entailed.

"Your origins don't matter to me anyway, Nepgear. You're basically my sister now."

Nepgear stared at Neptune blankly.

"It's a little too quick to trust me, you know?"

Neptune quickly replied with fervor:

"How so?"

A brief moment of silence befell the room.

Nepgear, with an anguished tone, let her words come to be.

"How do you know that I'm not just a complete farce? How do you know that I'm not just lying to you?"

Nepgear's eyes hardened.

She knew that this was too good to be true.

Neptune slowly approached Nepgear.

"I just know I can, Nepgear."

Before Nepgear could process what was going on, she felt two hands wrap around her waist.

It felt… warm.

It felt... comforting.

Nepgear's eyes softened.

Within her, she could feel the tidal wave of emotions that had troubled her from those bleak and seemingly endless years finally settle down.

Histoire smiled at the scene that unfolded before her.

She had never seen Neptune this happy in such a long time.

 _'The times long before, where all the CPUs had come together… as friends.'_

"I understand… Then, will you form a link with our Sharicite, Nepgear?"

With those somewhat teary eyes, Nepgear responded.

"I will."

Hands were shaken, and this was the start of a new beginning for Planeptune.

* * *

Nepgear knew the risks of trusting them, but still did either way.

She just felt she could.

It was unlikely that they would betray her, since their current state of affairs was just simply a complete mess.

Desperate was what she would describe Planeptune as.

It was obvious.

Neptune, based on how her demeanor was, had obviously worked hard and gained no returns whatsoever.

Desperation led into foolishness, but she had Histoire for that.

The reason why Nepgear had even accepted their offer was that she couldn't stand to see someone that was in a precarious position, especially when she could help.

The first thing she did was give Histoire advice on how to manage their economy, strengthen their military, and inspire vigilance within their walls.

She first wanted to improve the nation from the inside.

Despite Nepgear not having kept her country together in the end, she knew that it wasn't due to incompetence.

In fact, she had been praised by Histoire over the years for keeping the four districts that used to be solitary nations peaceful and prosperous.

With that in mind, she began to think.

As far as she could tell, the Neptune of this dimension desired for a little sister, and would obviously take care of Nepgear to the best of her ability.

That was one difference between this Neptune and hers.

Well, that wasn't to say that her sister wasn't doting... Neptune did take care of her quite a bit when she was younger.

But that soon faded away as their places in the Basilicom had changed.

Well, that didn't matter now.

Histoire of this dimension was as serious as ever, but she wasn't experienced, compared to her own Histoire. She and this Neptune seemed to have a work-based relationship, and not the one that her Histoire and Neptune did.

However, they trusted each other with their lives. They depended on each other more than they thought they did.

She had done her research on the matter.

The other lands all had CPU Candidates, and they were all doing well despite their work-ethics. Lastation was doing the best, of course.

While she wanted to meet the rest of the CPUs and CPU Candidates, especially Ciel, she knew that it wouldn't end well right now.

The relationship that Planeptune had with all the other nations was strained, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Lastation was at the top, with an overly-egotistic Noire, and a conforming Uni.

Uni was unusually soft-spoken, and she had a massive inferiority complex towards Noire.

This seemed to be due to Noire's abusiveness to Uni.

Kei was not the Lastation Oracle, but instead she was the Basilicom receptionist. She presumed that Noire thought she could handle everything on her own and didn't require an Oracle.

According to Histoire, Kei was a spy for Planeptune.

That was a major surprise, one that Nepgear could not foresee in a million years.

Nepgear's thoughts travelled back to Uni.

While she did see Uni in a romantic manner for a while, she figured it was just a childish crush and put her feelings aside.

This wasn't the same Uni, of course.

Leanbox was doing somewhat well.

Vert still had her habits of playing too many games, and was pretty much the same.

Ciel was a surprise.

She didn't have the habits that her sister did, but was a 'matchmaker' of sorts, trying to get people together in relationships.

Chika had the attention of Vert, though… so basically, Vert had two little sisters.

Ciel also got her fair share of attention, and they seemed to have a balanced relationship.

IF and Compa also lived in Leanbox, which was rather strange, since they were Planeptune natives.

She supposed that they lost faith in Neptune, and immigrated to Leanbox.

Whatever the case was, she knew that she couldn't do anything about it.

Lowee was rather… militarised.

They were hostile to every other nation, and getting in or out was like jumping across a long pit with spikes at the bottom.

Since Lowee was such a militarised nation, it was very secretive as well, and as such it was difficult to get any information on Blanc, Rom, and Ram.

However, after requesting information from Histoire, she managed to do so after waiting for three days.

Blanc was quick to anger, even worse than her counterpart.

Ram, to her disbelief was startlingly even more aggressive and served as their firepower.

Rom was calm and sharp. She essentially was Lowee's strategist.

It was an extremely diverse family dynamic.

They did not have an Oracle, as far as she knew.

The nations had a falling out some decades ago due to the CPU Candidate fiasco, but she knew that was too shallow of a reason.

It did not explain why Noire was so egotistical, no longer treating her citizens like people.

Neither did it explain Blanc's disposition.

When Nepgear asked Histoire about why the CPUs had changed so much, Histoire didn't answer, and looked away.

From her reactions, and her non-subtle glances at Nepgear, she could tell that it was related to her somehow.

It was rather strange. How could it be related to her?

 _'Could it be…? No. Impossible.'_

Mina Nishizawa, Lowee's Oracle in her dimension was also a surprise to her.

She was working in Planeptune as a day-care counsellor, and didn't have any connections back to Lowee.

She supposed that that was good, but she didn't have any training in the magical arts.

Maybe she could teach her… Histoire was a great teacher, and taught her everything she knew about the magical arts.

But then again… could this dimension be the outcome of Neptune not being able to let herself do what she wanted…? This probably affected a lot more people than she thought.

Nepgear was confident that she could easily defeat all of them. But it was best to not go for an all-out assault. While they would win, the outcome would be similar to what she had gone through. It would be best not to make another dimension end itself.

She checked her level. Undefined.

Her stats were also undefined.

This was confusing.

She had fought the monsters in the LAN Castle, and all it took was just a measly punch to utterly annihilate an Ancient Dragon.

She reckoned that her stats were just unreadable.

Neptune's level was 250.

She had leveled up from the meeting between the both of them, and the small bout they had beforehand.

She was rather strong compared to her own Neptune.

Histoire's level was 235.

Nepgear didn't exactly know how, but Histoire just was.

The other CPUs were unknown to Nepgear, since she hadn't met them face-to-face yet.

Nepgear requested to not be revealed to the public, and to remain incognito.

She could handle all the paperwork, since she had basically administered all of Gamindustri in the past.

If Histoire needed her to do a mission, she would be at their beck and call.

However, a larger question loomed in her mind. How could she make all the nations not grind their teeth into each other?

It was going to be difficult.

She tried to play peacemaker back in her dimension, and it cost her all of her friends' lives.

She thought about her strength. Why was she so overpowered?

She knew she was powerful in her own right, but not this powerful.

Now, just after a few months since their agreement, Planeptune's shares rose to 21%. The other nations found this extremely peculiar.

In their eyes, Neptune was stuck in a very prevalent slump, and couldn't do anything right.

They were very wrong.

This Neptune was marginally better than her own in terms of skill.

She was much more disciplined, and she handled herself well.

Her skill with the sword was truly nothing to scoff at.

Under many limitations, she had lost in many spars against her.

She employed a rather peculiar style with the sword, mostly going for feints and quick thrusts.

Nepgear had been caught off guard by her unorthodox style, and she was genuinely impressed.

Once again, Nepgear thought back to Planeptune's growth.

The other nations sent in spies in order to find out the cause of the sudden growth, and were probably appalled when nothing came back, in terms of information.

It was laughable, how they even tried to break into Planeptune in the first place.

Their plans were extremely flawed, and the new and improved security detail saw through them almost immediately.

Heck, Nepgear could see through them from thousands of miles away.

It was just that laughable.

So, with all of this in mind, and as far as Nepgear could see, Planeptune was in a good position.

She requested new clothes from Histoire, since her own reminded her of the past that she best left forgotten.

She now wore an inverted-coloured version of Neptune's hoodie, black and purple.

She also wore black shorts. Her hair also had a black D-Clip on, and it was strung up in a ponytail.

In truth, she just wanted to try something new, and these clothes were easy to move in.

The shorts were there… for decency.

She never knew why she wore such… revealing clothing for such a long time.

Well, she was getting side-tracked.

Today's objective was…

Setting up the surprise for the Certification Act.

* * *

Neptune was happy, for once in her life.

Her nation was actually doing well, and she finally had a little sister!

While she wasn't exactly a little sister she could dote on, she loved her either way.

She was extremely reliable, and every day they finished the paperwork before noon.

That was a major improvement from previous times.

They used to take almost half the day, and now they took only a measly 3 hours.

While she was somewhat suspicious of Nepgear, she and Histoire decided that it would be for the best to allow her to link to the Sharicite, and for her to work at the Planeptower.

Despite her suspicions, she knew that she could trust her somehow.

She didn't know how that trust evolved to some sort of sisterly love either.

Overall, it worked out to be in their best interests.

There was a massive improvement in living conditions within their walls:

Their military was extremely loyal to Planeptune, and took security astoundingly seriously.

Histoire was also elated by the turn of events.

She now was more open, and they had a much more 'intimate' relationship as Nepgear called it.

She knew Nepgear didn't mean 'that' type of relationship, but Histoire always blushed whenever she said that.

Histoire didn't see her in that way at all, right…?

But then again, she finally had something to be proud of.

There were these moments where she felt an unknown 'connection' between her and Nepgear, and it did bother her sometimes.

Was it due to them sharing the same Sharicite?

It seemed likely, but she could never really ask the other CPUs due to confidentiality and the fact that Nepgear wanted to keep being incognito.

No one out there knew that Nepgear was the 'CPU Candidate' of Planeptune, as far as her sources went.

Planeptune now sat on a nice 21% share rate.

Leanbox was at 24%, Lowee was 26% and Lastation was 29%.

It still wasn't the best by any means, but it was still a massive improvement.

This sort of growth obviously caught the attention of the other nations.

She received a call from Kei, her spy in Lastation that they were sending people over to Planeptune in order to find out the cause of the growth.

Of course, Kei didn't know why the growth happened either and so she asked how exactly it happened.

Neptune had just chuckled over the phone and replied in a sing-song tone: "It's a trade-secret."

Kei did notice the much more jovial tone in Neptune's voice, and simply stated: "You've found something meaningful, haven't you?"

Neptune just smiled, and replied once again in that sing-song tone: "What do you think?"

Neptune's thoughts went back to the other nations.

Lowee sat on the side-lines as far as she knew, which was peculiar.

Blanc never was one to just stand back. It definitely had to be a ruse.

Leanbox called directly to the Basilicom land line, and Neptune had to fake the 'depressive' tone in order not to stir any sort of suspicion.

She droned with a tone that could be compared to a robot: "I have no clue. I just worked."

Vert seemed to accept that, and hung up.

Neptune disliked how the other CPUs looked down upon her.

Honestly, she just wanted to run into their nations and scream at them in anger...

Or... possibly sabotage them. That could work.

Revenge wasn't the best solution to every problem, though.

Taking things slowly in this situation would be the best course of action.

With Nepgear, she knew that they could win.

It basically was a given.

Nepgear was extremely powerful.

Just crossing her would mean anyone's end.

She would never, ever treat Nepgear as a tool of power.

This was the chance she always wanted.

A chance that she would never take for granted.

A sister to rely on, and to dote upon.

She would treat her well, and work with her as much as she could.

The Certification Act was planned through by both of them, and it was their lovechild… of sorts.

Their best course of action in the long run would be to build bonds throughout the nations.

However, it would be extremely difficult.

Noire and Blanc just wouldn't listen to her.

Vert just sat at the sidelines.

 _'Why couldn't we be what we used to be?'_

She wasn't very social by any means, but she would try her best to foster bonds.

She would do what she could.

Today she would do her best, to go up and make the speech announcing The Certification Act.

For Nepgear.

For Histy.

For Planeptune.

For Gamindustri.

* * *

Histoire let out a breath in contentment.

After Nepgear had become the CPU Candidate of Planeptune, their workload had decreased to a measly minority.

Histoire could finally rest.

Nepgear had also made vast improvements to their state of affairs, military loyalty, and vigilance.

It was astounding how, just with her advice… such improvements were made in such a short time.

Their share rate had also become nothing to scoff at.

Now, since they had free time, she wanted to know her charges better.

Nepgear was… close to an enigma to her.

Other than her origins, personality and day-to-day habits, they knew nothing about her.

However, she was extremely reliable, and efficient.

She also showed signs of mental instability, but that was normal for someone who had gone through things that she had.

On the other end of the spectrum, there was Neptune, whom was someone she had worked with for an incredibly long time.

Despite that, she never really found the time to get to know her.

She was an extremely 'fun' person, with the ability to settle many situations and misunderstandings.

However, she was unable to use this ability due to how much stress they were going through.

Over the few months, Nepgear teased them a little about them being 'intimate', but she knew that was just a joke.

Her involuntary reactions were just in the spur of the moment.

She knew that these days would last, but she wanted to savor them.

It was a chance.

However, as the living record of Gamindustri, she knew about everything that happened throughout the nations. Even their dirty secrets.

Lowee was a thorn in their side.

They were planning a war against Planeptune very soon.

And with that, Nepgear would have to fight at the front-line.

Their ace in the hole would be revealed then.

Lastation didn't see Planeptune as a threat.

Noire was too egotistical to even bother.

Uni, despite being treated badly by her sister, still followed her around like a stray puppy.

Other than the spies that Uni sent over in her worry, there wasn't really much done against them.

The spies were easily dealt with, thanks to Nepgear's efforts.

Leanbox was no threat, as far as it went.

She was thankful for Vert being one of the most level-headed CPUs.

In truth, having knowledge was one thing.

Experience was another.

This was why Nepgear was so important to Planeptune at its current state.

She had the experience that no other goddess had, and also was a very competent leader and fighter.

Histoire didn't even have to look at Nepgear's stats to know how powerful she was.

Her power practically rolled off her in spades.

However, what shocked her was that she was so extremely powerful, to the point of that the Level-Variation System could not even crunch the numbers that were Nepgear's stats.

While it was only a brief estimation of ability, the fact that it couldn't even display the numbers was just frightening.

This was obviously the reason why Nepgear held back in her spars against Neptune.

Neptune usually won, but if it was an all-out-battle, Neptune would definitely, without a doubt lose that fight.

It scared her sometimes to know they had the power of someone like Nepgear assisting them.

Despite that, she knew that Nepgear would not do anything to harm Planeptune.

It was strange, but she just knew that she could trust her.

In fact, she was the one who persuaded Neptune to allow the Sharicite-link.

Though, Neptune did seem incredibly willing in the first place.

Then again... Nepgear could turn her back on them.

But Histoire knew.

Letting Nepgear join Planeptune was the best decision they had ever made in ages.

She only feared the reactions of the other nations.

Nepgear was a weapon.

One of devastating prospects.

If they found out about Nepgear's existence…

It would be extremely detrimental to Planeptune, no.

It would shake Gamindustri at its very core.

She sighed.

 _'Why couldn't it be peaceful again?'_

Histoire knew she had to tell Nepgear soon on why the CPUs had changed.

Nepgear was smart enough to figure everything out.

If she didn't tell her, Nepgear would probably feel betrayed.

Histoire sighed once more.

At least there was a silver lining.

The Certification Act was being announced today.

* * *

Uni felt as if the world was mocking her, laughing at the failure she was.

She could not even acquire insider information on Planeptune, the worst nation of them all.

Planeptune never deserved to be even called a nation.

She wanted to surprise her sister today, with stacks of papers that held all of Planeptune's ins and outs.

However, when she sent her spies to infiltrate Planeptune, they were caught and imprisoned at the border before they could even begin their mission.

At least she knew her spies wouldn't rat Lastation out as their employer.

They were too loyal to her sister's cause to even think of endangering Lastation.

With no traces tying the spies back to Lastation, Planeptune could not instigate a war over this.

That is, of course, if they even dared to fight in the first place.

Lastation would stomp Planeptune like the bugs they were.

They were nothing before her sister's nation.

Although, something concerned her greatly.

Since when was Planeptune's security detail so vigilant and efficient, to the point that they could effortlessly shut down her carefully selected and experienced spies before they could even do anything?

Since when was the loser-nation Planeptune something worth mentioning?

She faltered.

Her sister would punish her severely for wasting Lastation's resources without gaining anything in return.

She feared the beatings with every fiber of her body. The very thought of them made her skin crawl along her lash marks.

An involuntary shiver.

The searing pain from the red-hot iron burning into her skin.

The excruciating agony of the whip digging into her skin, the degrading insults…

The marks that traversed the length of her body.

The black torrent of ink that was the words of damnation that stained her heart and soul.

No, she couldn't think that way.

She absolutely deserved it.

Her sister did it out of the kindness of her heart…

She was lucky to be even regarded as The Empress'… younger sister.

She didn't even deserve it.

Many were envious, who wouldn't be?

She was privileged to be chosen to be Black Sister.

But in her mind, she was worthless.

That was why she was punished.

She wouldn't be unless she was a complete failure.

So therefore, she owed a great debt to The Empress.

She could not even call… Noi-, no.

Her sister… by her real name.

There was no way she could.

She couldn't.

She was unworthy.

She would be good enough for her sister one day.

She would be good enough one day to deserve everything that her sister had given her.

' _Right… I will be good enough, someday…'_

Yet, Uni wondered: Why was she crying then?

 _'Why did it end up like this…?'_

No matter what, she simply couldn't understand.

 _'One day…'_

* * *

Neptune was somewhat unnerved.

How long had it been since she had addressed her people?

The last time she had done so was to announce the defeat of the Deity of Sin, and that had been many, many years ago.

Despite being overly prepared for it, she couldn't help but think of what setbacks could occur.

"Are you nervous, Neptune?"

The voice she had never heard before till a few months ago called out to her.

She turned, and stood up from the stool she was sitting upon in the Planeptower.

"Nepgear… to be honest, I'm a little scared. What if I mess this up?

I mean, you could've asked Histy to go up there and make the speech, right?"

Nepgear scoffed in response, a mocking smile taking hold of her face.

"Do you really think that people would take Histoire seriously? She isn't the CPU of this nation, Neptune. You are."

Neptune's panic still had not subsided.

"But why me? You're the better choice in this situation…"

Nepgear walked up to Neptune, placed her hand on her sister's shoulder and smiled.

"Neptune. I'm not the CPU of this proud nation. I'm just a measly 'CPU Candidate' that doesn't exist. Neptune, you're the CPU of this nation, so quit doubting yourself! When you doubt yourself, you are preparing to fail," Nepgear paused to catch her breath, before she continued:

"Believe in yourself, Neptune. You made it this far because you worked for it, Neptune. Planeptune has made it this far because of you, and only you. You are the only one who can give this speech, sister… The nation you have built is waiting for you. Remember, sister: Histoire and I will always stand beside you, giving you the support you need."

Neptune's eyes widened in realization, a grin finally forming on her face.

"You're right. I'll do it. It would be un-goddess-like for me to back out from this, wouldn't it?"

Nepgear's smile became more pronounced.

"It definitely would. Go get 'em, Neptune."

Neptune grinned back at Nepgear, and stuck her tongue out.

"It's time. Access!"

The purple light radiated from Neptune, and the silhouette she had changed drastically.

The light faded, and revealed a woman with long, purple hair in twin braids.

She wore a light purple cardigan with a white-button shirt within, and a set of light purple pants to match with the jacket. She wore a pair of black, professional-looking dress shoes.

The dark purple tie she wore tied the look together.

"Looking good, Neptune."

"Remind me to thank Kei for this suit, Nepgear."

Despite having it heard it many times before from her own Neptune, Nepgear was still slightly taken aback by Purple Heart's mature and slightly seductive voice.

Nepgear smiled in nostalgia.

"I definitely will."

Neptune turned, and walked towards the light.

The balcony where she would deliver the speech.

As she reached her destination, she could finally see how many had showed up.

Her eyes widened.

There was a lot more people than she had expected.

The crowd that was standing below the Planeptower had filled the streets from beyond what she could even see.

The entirety of Planeptune was here, it seemed.

She braced herself.

"Citizens of Planeptune! I address you today as your CPU, your leader!"

The crowd roared wildly.

She even thought that she heard someone confess their love for her.

"Thank you for coming out here on this day. Today, I am here to announce a certain policy that we're enforcing here in Planeptune."

She could feel the incredulous stares upon her, and with them, the mounting pressure that was leading a nation.

However, she knew that she couldn't back down now!

"Do not fret, my Planeptunians. This policy is meant to directly benefit the people!"

Once again, she could feel the incredulous stares from the crowd.

While she had delivered that line somewhat awkwardly, she wouldn't let it hinder her.

She had to do this.

This was the first step for bringing all of Gamindustri together.

She **would** do it.

She braced herself, and continued her speech:

"People of Planeptune," Neptune announced with a new found confidence, "All of you have an equal and divine birthright! Though often forgotten, this birthright that belongs to all of you is both simple yet important: it is your own names."

Neptune smiled towards the crowd that lay before her.

"In honor of you Planeptunians for believing in me, my name, and everything that I am as your CPU…"

Her smile began to grow wider.

"We are gladly announcing The Certification Act! I wish for all of you, as Planeptunians, to remember that each of you are individuals. You are all your own selves, and you deserve to be who you are! Take pride knowing that you and every person gathered here today are pioneers: pioneers of your own lives."

Neptune took a brief moment to survey the silent but attentive crowd.

"Tyrants that encircle Planeptune oppose the idea of such individuality, falsely and illegitimately claiming that it destroys our sense of community."

Neptune took a deep breath, bracing her voice for what she was to say:

"But heed them no mind! We are a community, not by virtue of being the same, but by virtue of being pioneers together! Though each of us are different from one another, we still unwaveringly stand together as a community! We, fellow Planeptunians, defy their monotony, their slavery, and above all, their lies!"

Neptune raised her fist into the air, and the crowd roared in response, with many imitating her.

The crowd calmed down when Neptune lowered her fist, letting the CPU continue.

Neptune knew she had succeeded in delivering what she had needed to, but she wanted to go the extra mile.

"Once again, I thank you all for believing in me. With this, I believe that our nation shall continue to be truly free."

Neptune gestured towards the crowd.

"All of you already have names, all of which you have chosen for yourselves. However, these names have not been officialised due our prior situation. Now, this will be remedied. Every single immigrated citizen, newborn, even the ones that had been around prior to this announcement, will now be receiving a birth certificate to signify their individuality."

Neptune silently thanked Histoire and Nepgear for helping out with the literal mountains of paperwork needed to carry this policy out.

"Now, on to something we all know. Our fellow nations within this continent: Lowee and Lastation. What exactly do we have that they don't?"

The crowd was silent and completely attentive, waiting for Neptune to continue.

And she would.

"What I believe we have is our ability to push on, to strive for a better tomorrow. To be free to do whatever we wish."

With a smile, she persisted with her speech.

"Today, Planeptunians continue to fly our banners of freedom. While the people of other continental powers languish under the tyrannical and militant heel of their CPUs, you, Planeptunians, are the ones that carry the torch of liberty within this dark hour. "

Neptune smiled warmly upon her citizens, knowing that they were listening with a hundred percent of their attention.

"It is because of each and every one of you today that Planeptune stands alone as a beacon of great justice. While the workers of Lowee toil for their Queen without the respect of what a name entails, while the common Lastationer is enslaved and enthralled by fanaticism and propaganda for their Egomanic Empress…"

Neptune paused to further the impact of what she was about to say:

 **"I can say without a doubt that we, the people of Planeptune shall never bow down to such tyrannical and vile ways!"**

Cheers erupted out from the crowd in support of the CPU's words.

As the cheers died down, Neptune decided to pursue on, and go another mile with her speech.

"While there is a nation, across the sea that shares the love of liberty with us, they do not face the underlying and unrelenting threat that we do. They do not face the constant threat of barbaric militants pressing at their gates, threatening the very homes they live in, and casting a shadow upon the daily lives of each and every citizen."

The crowd murmured, as if all wondering what their CPU was about to say.

"We seek mutual cooperation with such freedom-loving nations, and must extend our arms out towards them. However, in the end… it is the common Planeptunian that guarantees the freedom of Planeptune, our nation."

Saturating her words with passion, she passed the beliefs in her heart down to her people.

"Our nation has gone through dark times within the recent past. While all the other nations received a CPU Candidate, we did not. Ciel of Leanbox, Rom and Ram of Lowee, and finally, Uni, of Lastation. Yet, despite our greatest efforts, we received nothing. Our shares fell, and the fire of our torch dimmed. People wondered: Had the True Goddess turned her back on Planeptune, turned her back on us all?"

More murmuring from the crowd was heard, discussing the point that Neptune had made.

"Despite the fact that I want to announce that we finally have a CPU Candidate, I cannot do so since it is not true. I can only tell the truth to my citizens. In spite of cries of defeatism and humiliating remarks we have received from the other nations, we braved the storm! Through the strength of your faith, each and every one of you proved the infallible truth: The True Goddess had not."

Neptune grinned.

She wasn't exactly lying, since Nepgear wasn't really a CPU Candidate.

"We endured those brutal times, but didn't stop there. We not only endured, but we had thrived and succeeded despite our disadvantages! It is only due to all of you, standing right here before me, with the belief that you had put in me: Every prayer, every chant, every time my name is spoken that Planeptune's shares has grown by such a tremendous amount."

Neptune placed her hand on her heart.

"So with that, take pride. Take pride with yourselves, for you are the ones that have brought upon us a second golden age to Planeptune. Like a Purple Phoenix, we have risen from the ashes to soar once more in the skies!"

Neptune snapped her fingers, signalling the surprise.

From the sides of the balcony of the Planeptower, bursts of purple-pink magic appeared before shooting up into the sky.

They then exploded into an eye-catching display of fireworks, phoenix after phoenix.

The crowd roared in delight.

Neptune turned, waved to the crowd, and then walked back into the Planeptower.

The crowd screamed her name.

Neptune smiled.

She had far exceeded what she wanted to do.

"Great job, Neptune. Like I said, you could do it. But there's one part about the speech I'm worried about."

Nepgear's statement lingered in the air.

"Noire and Blanc both are going to take this as a provocation of sorts, I'd imagine."

Nepgear scoffed in response to Neptune's words.

"Not at all on one end. With Noire being the egomaniac that she is, she wouldn't even care about this unless we directly attacked her, face-to-face."

Neptune then questioned:

"What about Blanc, then?"

Nepgear smiled.

However, it was not in delight.

"You already know the answer to that question."

Neptune's face darkened.

"We're going to war, aren't we?"

Nepgear could only nod somberly.


	3. Chapter 3- Past: Memoirs

My name is IF.

How do you pronounce it, you might ask?

It's I.F!

Not IF.

I'm currently 6 years old, according to the nice old lady that takes care of me.

She gave me a roof over my head.

I'll pay her back someday, tenfold!

I think her name was Deco?

She's very nice.

Huh?

Where are my parents?

They're somewhere around the world on business, I guess.

They'll come back someday…

I hope.

I've never actually seen my parents.

Guess they're too busy to take care of me.

That's nice, I suppose.

I really hope they'll come back to get me.

They left me here on this street some years ago, according to the people around this area.

I'm pretty well known.

The people around call me the 'Orphan', whatever that means.

It sounds like a weird title to give anyone...

But whatever, I guess it's pretty cool to have a title.

The demons tend to speak a lot less when I'm around, so I have that going for me.

The demons came in all shapes and sizes, but most of the time they were weird bear-slime things.

The wolf in my left arm tells me to fight them, to protect the people around me.

It's my duty as a Demon Hunter!

I mean, I've got to be a Demon Hunter if I can summon flame from my left arm using the wolf's powers!

Deco always tells me: "Do what you think is right. There's no fault in going your way, especially if you wish to protect others."

I keep these words close to my heart and soul, and they were the words that propelled me forward in life.

Well, I'd best move on to another place to patrol. There isn't too much I can really do around here.

The clothes that Deco gave me fit perfectly on a Demon Hunter like me.

An old blue coat with oversized buttons, one size bigger than me… and a nice black shirt with silver highlights and shorts to go with it.

Some old, raggedy black boots to top it all off.

It could be better, but it works!

I'll make Lady Purple Heart proud of me, and then I'll meet her face-to-face!

Someday!

I'll just have to work for it.

Gamindustri is just so big.

Let's move forward, into the future!

* * *

I go by IF. I'm currently 14 years old.

I've been living in an orphanage for the past 6 or so years.

I've also gotten taller. 146cm, according to the measurements on the walls.

Deco had finally passed away in her sleep, after so many years of taking care of me from the start of my life.

After Deco had finally succumbed to her sickness, I learned of the financial difficulties she had gone through just to raise me.

She only had barely enough money for her own day to day living, and most of the money she earned was used on me.

She worked endlessly from day to night to put food on our plates.

Later on, I had found out that Deco had refused to take operations that could've saved her life just to raise me.

I couldn't understand why she had gone to this extent for me, someone who was just a random orphan on the street.

I was unable to comprehend it.

Guilt ran through my veins as I heard of everything that she had done.

She soon could no longer work due to her condition, and had to take a home equity loan from the Basilicom to keep our lives going.

As a result, our home was repossessed by the Basilicom when she died, and I had to move to the Planeptune Day-Care that also functioned as an orphanage.

Today was the day I was to be adopted, apparently.

Lady Purple Heart... why have you done this to me…?

Deco worked her hardest, worked her **bloody** hardest to make ends meet for both of us…

And this is what you gave to me in the end?

Deco's body was still buried where we lived before.

But I can't even set foot in there any longer.

I can't even pay respects to my… mother…?

All I got was a measly little paper that said that her grave would not be desecrated.

Was this… for real…?

I sat on the floor, crossed my legs and thought.

It was not good to get angry like this.

It was time to judge my current situation.

What kind of person would adopt someone like me?

Would he or she take care of me like Deco did?

I only hoped that they would.

"Ah. IF, your soon-to-be caregiver is here. Do you want to meet him?"

A voice called out to me, a voice that I was all too familiar with.

It was Mina, the Planeptune Day-Care Counsellor.

She was really nice, and always talked to me when I needed it most.

She wore a red coat that greatly reminded me of a teacher of sorts, a white dress and a scholar's hat.

Blue hair and eyes.

Red glasses.

Rather short, about a few centimetres above me.

When we first met, on the day that Deco had left the world…

The day that I stepped into the Orphanage…

She was a truly kind person.

Her 'aura' told me everything I needed to know.

I had the ability to judge others' via a light that surrounded them.

I had to first channel a strange energy that was in my body into my eyes, though.

Mina seemed very interested in it, and asked me how I managed such feats.

I simply told her that it was something natural to me.

She seemed pleased with this answer, and simply told me to make use of my ability.

I found it rather strange that she took notes about it, but who knows what she wrote them for?

Knowing Mina, it was probably for a good cause.

"Oh, alright. Where do I go?"

I replied, unsure of what I was to do.

"Just follow me!"

Mina took my hand, and guided me slowly to the front counter of the Orphanage.

As I was pulled along, I saw a kind-looking old man staring at me.

He wore a white dress shirt and black pants.

White-orange blonde hair that seemed to be greying, orange-red eyes.

His face and hands weren't that wrinkled, but his 'aura' told me everything.

A dark-blue light surrounded his being, signifying that he was rather old… and battle-hardened in some manner.

He was taller than Mina, which wasn't really an accomplishment.

"Ah, is this the one? She seems rather mature for her age."

The old man spoke with a tone that I could not comprehend.

Kind?

Disdainful?

"She's been through quite a bit. How could you tell?"

The Counsellor then inquired with a smile on her face.

"It's in her eyes. Don't tell me you can't see it?"

The old man seemed to understand me just by looking.

Just who was he?

"I know what you mean. Alright, Mr. Coeur. The papers are here, ready for you. All they need now is your signature."

The old man scribbled his signature on the papers, and passed them back to the counsellor.

"It's official then. IF is now under your care, Mr. Coeur."

The two shook hands, and the old man turned to face me.

"My name is Careth Coeur. Nice to meet you, IF."

He stretched out his right arm, seeming to gesture for a handshake.

I took his hand with some hesitation, before shaking it up and down.

As I shook his hand, the old man smiled warmly at me, before speaking once again.

"Alright then, follow me, IF."

It was time for me to have a home again.

* * *

"We're here, IF."

A nice, cosy home greeted me.

Orange walls, a multitude of girlish toys scattered about…

Was that a gigantic syringe?

Wait, was he that type of creep?

I'm pretty much screwed, aren't I?

"IF, I get the feeling that you're miffed by the giant syringe. It's my granddaughter's. She wants to be a nurse someday, so I bought her that syringe."

Oh, so that was the reason.

Strange how he read my mind so perfectly.

Wait, if he had a granddaughter, then why was he adopting me?

"Is she dead?"

Mr. Coeur seemed to be startled by this statement.

"No. I'm assuming you're asking this as you're unsure why I adopted you. There's a multitude of reasons, but the main one is that I wanted my granddaughter, Compa to have some company. No pun intended, of course."

I nodded.

"I understand, then. I'll keep your granddaughter company. How old is she?"

Mr. Coeur once again was startled by my question, but he smiled softly.

"Y'know, you really aren't like other kids. Most would say 'But why?', but you agreed and asked me how old she was. To answer your question, she's 13."

Well, she was one year younger than me.

Interesting.

But something about his words confused me.

I tilted my head, before asking:

"Am I that different…?"

Mr. Coeur smiled yet again, and patted my head softly.

"Yeah, IF. It's not a bad thing to be different, of course."

I nodded my head slowly.

"Got it. I have my fair share of questions, so could you answer them?"

Mr. Coeur nodded in agreement.

"If she's your granddaughter… then where's her parents?"

Mr. Coeur's demeanour now changed drastically.

He now gave off an aura of insurmountable sadness.

"They… died."

They died.

Explains quite a bit, to be honest.

I guess I have to reassure him that it's all right, then.

"Mr. Coeur, it's okay. It's long over and done with."

Mr. Coeur's eyes brightened. Guess his depression ended quickly.

He seemed to realize something, and he smiled.

"Ah, IF. No need to call me Mr. Coeur. Call me Careth."

I guess I'd best listen to him then.

"Alright, Careth."

Careth beamed.

"Ah, it's nice to hear someone call me Careth again. My granddaughter always insists on calling me Grandpa. Speaking of which, she's coming back home from school very soon. I think you two will click together very well."

It would be nice to have a friend, I guess.

"I'll see what I can do, Careth."

 _"Knock!"_

A knock was heard from the door.

"Oh, perfect timing!"

Careth turned the door knob, and he pulled the door open.

"Grandpa!"

A cutesy voice ringed out.

I had to admit, it was rather endearing.

I blushed slightly.

Why was I thinking like that about a girl?

"Eh, Grandpa… Who is this?"

The girl walked into the room.

She wore a woolen sweater that looked to be made with care and meticulous effort.

She also wore a red short-skirt.

In accordance with her age, she was also shorter than I was.

It also seemed that Compa noticed me.

Guess it was time for introductions.

I opened my mouth to speak, but…

"Compa! This 'ere is IF, and she'll be living with us from now on."

Careth had beaten me to the punch.

"Is that so? Okay! Hello, IF! My name is Compa, and we're happy to have you here!"

How carefree.

It made me smile a little inside.

I had to return the favor.

How could I not?

"Pleased to meet you, Compa."

I glanced in Careth's direction.

Careth seemed to be very happy, watching our exchange of words.

"Ah… this is the start of something… beautiful."

He now really sounded like an old man.

Guess living here is going to be quite interesting.

"Hmm..." I grinned.

Compa looked at us in confusion.

It was truly a blessing.

I only hoped… that it would last.


	4. Chapter 4- Past: Circumvention

IF sighed as she swiped at another Dogoo, ending its life in one stroke with her Qatars.

She was in the Virtua Forest, taking on a request to exterminate some monsters. The family would be better off with the reward money in their pockets.

She reminisced about what had happened within these few years.

It had been about 4 years since IF was adopted by Careth, but of course she hadn't sat around and done nothing.

She had done her research.

Apparently, Careth was a battle medic in the Great Outredimension War that happened give or take 29 years ago.

That wasn't really a surprise, since she had sensed turmoil within his aura that could've only happened with great amounts of fighting and suffering.

On the other end of the household, Compa was pure and untainted, and her aura spoke of nothing but insurmountable kindness.

It was both a blessing and a curse.

It meant that she was gullible, and that she would do anything for you as long as she saw you in need for help.

IF knew that it was going to be detrimental to Compa in the long run.

Compa now worked in the nearby Planeptune Hospital as a nurse after completing nursing school at the tender age of 16. She was basically a prodigy at caretaking.

IF had informed Careth about Compa's demeanor, and how it would be detrimental in the long run. However, Careth simply shrugged, saying that it was just how Compa was and that he couldn't change her mind either way.

On the other hand, he seemed to be impressed with IF's ability to read other people's auras, and told IF to cherish that ability.

"IF, such an ability is rare around here nowadays. It's a sign that you have incredible amounts of magic power within you, even at such a young age. With that, I suggest going to the library to pick up a few books on magic to practice. Make use of your abilities, IF."

IF had known that she was special in some way, but not like this.

When she was younger, she went around and paraded as a 'Demon Hunter', even though all she was doing was killing monsters.

While it was a good deed, she was internally embarrassed with how she had acted in those times.

Recalling less long ago, IF remembered two years ago, when she turned 16.

16 years old was the official start of adulthood in Planeptune. With Careth growing ever older, IF had decided she needed to be able to handle herself.

She started by looking for a weapon, one that she could use with her petite frame.

As she walked down the streets, she happened to walk past a certain shop…

The blacksmith had called out to her, and asked what IF wanted.

IF was incredibly surprised. She hadn't expected for anyone to know what she wanted to do in that area, especially since she was in the general shopping district.

She was surprised by the words spoken to her:

"You look like you want to protect something important to you… I can help you with that."

The voice was ragged, and bore the mark of old age.

That was the start of her training with the blacksmith.

The blacksmith was female, old and wrinkly, with traces of black hair within the whites.

She never told IF her name, despite the time that IF had spent with her.

IF was fine with it, however. As long as she could protect her family, nothing else mattered.

The Qatars had been cautiously handmade and meticulously forged to perfection.

They were made out of an ultra-high carbon steel that was extremely strong. They were strangely lightweight, even though ultra-high carbon steel was supposed to be extremely heavy even in small quantities. Using it to make a blade was supposed to be preposterous. Despite her training in blacksmithing, IF still had no clue how the blacksmith had made the Qatars so light.

The blades properly flexed when they struck against a hard object, ensuring that they would not break easily.

They had also been tempered and quenched with oil to make them less brittle, and with that process, the blades had turned an eerie blue.

The blade's point of balance was close to the handle. In conjunction with their short lengths, this made it easy for IF to maneuver and control where she was slashing.

The handles were covered in a sweat-resistant rubberized wrapping for greater grip and handling.

There were no decorations on the blade, since she wanted them to be as inconspicuous as possible.

Eye-catching engravings would make her weapons lose their charm, in her opinion.

Speed, accuracy, and dexterity were a big part of what she stood for.

The training was gruelling and painful. She had first started with physical training, and it was the definition of hell. There were no breaks, other than lunch at noon and when she had to leave. Every day was something different, a hundred push-ups were the standard, but if she was off-form just by a little, she had to do ten more. As she had no prior experience, it had escalated to the point of six hundred push-ups per day, but she improved over time. What made the training hell was that she had to run four rounds around Planeptune a day after the push-ups, and still had some stretching as warm-up. She still shuddered at what the blacksmith did to 'motivate' her. It was best left unsaid. _The eggplants..._

After that, she had worked on weapons, finding what suited her best.

She saw daggers, swords and knives that all looked that they were forged with thorough care and effort within the shop. However, nothing in the shop seemed to 'click' with her, and so the blacksmith had made the Qatars for her. Learning how to use the Qatars was a nightmare. She had originally thought that using weapons, especially blades, was simple: you swung with the edge and cut.

How wrong she was. There was a lot more that went into it. Technique, edge alignment…

The dexterity that went into using a blade, and the time that it took to learn how to use her Qatars were simply eye-openers.

The blacksmith had trained her over two years in both smithing and blade-usage, and at the end of her training she was told:

"You've learnt everything I can teach you, IF. There's nothing else, to be truthful. This old lady has been waiting for years to have an apprentice to teach… And you've done it for me. Thank you, IF."

She never saw the blacksmith ever again. It was strange, no matter what she tried, she couldn't find the smith after she left.

Afterwards, IF had gone to the library as per Careth's suggestion and studied a little bit of magic.

There weren't a lot of manuals within the library, since magic was a Lowee specialty.

At least she knew how to use a basic fire spell and some healing spells, but that was the about all she could learn from what was in the library. The fire spell was marginally easier to learn as she had been using a variant of what was written in the manual since a child to kill monsters.

A tone played from her watch that doubled as a quest and or errand tracker.

"Beep!"

"Ah, I'm done for today."

As IF realized this, she walked back to Planeptune.

It only took a short walk, since Virtua Forest was just a stone's throw away from Planeptune.

She walked past the gate guards of Planeptune who didn't seem to care what kind of people went in or went out.

She only felt disgust towards them.

After walking for a bit, she reached the city square and picked up her reward.

"1200 Credits, huh? That's enough for two days' worth of meals I suppose."

She walked back to her home.

The orange door that stood before her, the happy memories that were made behind that door...

She would protect them all, and fight for them no matter the cost.

She took out her keys, unlocked the door, and pushed it in.

"I'm home," IF announced to no one in particular.

"Ah, Ai-Chan! I have something to tell you."

A voice that IF had heard frequently over the few years called out to her using the nickname that Compa had coined for her.

Speaking of Compa, she would be back in a few hours from work.

"Careth, what is it?"

IF walked into the living room. Even though a few years had passed, it was still riddled with toys. Stuffed bears, some stuffed cats and all: it was basically the epitome of girlishness. The orange-pink walls just added to the tone of the room.

It irked her somewhat, but it was to Compa's liking… so IF had learned to live with it.

"I'm going to work for the hospital starting from tomorrow," Careth announced, beaming with the pride of an old veteran.

"Excuse… me?"

IF was shocked. Though still physically fit, Careth was too old to be working, so… why?

"Compa's already aware of this, IF. Even though she had tried to dissuade me from doing this, I have to. It's my duty: For Lady Purple Heart, and For Planeptune."

IF gritted her teeth. She still held a grudge against Lady Purple Heart.

"For Planeptune, huh. For **'Lady' Purple Heart**...? Really, Careth…" IF's words were tinged with a caustic sting.

Careth frowned, only half-heartedly expecting such a negative response.

"Come and take a seat, IF." Careth motioned for IF to sit on the worn-out purple sofa beside him.

IF, silently angry, sat next to her adoptive guardian as he began to speak.

"I know deep in your heart that you hate Lady Purple Heart, IF." Careth wrapped his arm around IF and placed his hand on her shoulder. IF was silent.

"It's been obvious to me from the very start. Every single time I mention the Basilicom, your face flashes with anger for just a fraction of a second."

IF remained silent, so Careth continued.

"Yet… IF, I'm doing this for us. I'm doing this to help the people that protect our nation with their lives. Even though I won't get paid for it, I'll still do it."

IF's eyes widened. He wasn't getting paid for it?

She jumped out of her seat and stood, facing Careth.

"Why?! You're doing this for no reason at all, Careth. Why fight for a country that doesn't do anything for you?! You don't have a duty to serve Planeptune or ' _ **Lady' Purple Heart**_! In fact, you've already served your duty in the war! You've done all of this while our ' _ **goddess'**_ has done nothing for this nation at all!"

IF angrily motioned her arms in a multitude of directions as she spoke, the scorn that she held for Lady Purple Heart apparent in how she had spat her title out in disdain.

"Is this truly what you believe, IF?"

Careth grimaced.

"I expected a smart girl like you to have done research on me, but it seems to me that you didn't get the entire story."

He stared IF in the eyes.

"About thirty years ago, in the Great Outredimension War, my best friend and I were conscripted to go fight for Planeptune. No one questioned the goddesses back then; everyone knew that we were marching out to fight against evil. Since we were from the same town in the outskirts of Planeptune, we were assigned to the same unit. He was a little older than me, and just had a newborn daughter…"

IF tapped her foot impatiently.

"I see that you're not in the mood for an old man's war story. Fine. The two of us went out together to fight for the entire dimension's freedom."

Careth paused, before choking on his next words, as if they were hard to swallow.

"Only **one** of us came back home, IF."

Careth's eyes became a little watered.

"If the **charred** remains of my hometown can be called 'home', that is."

He closed his eyes.

"As he died, he told me to take care of his wife and daughter when I came back. All I could do was bury their **burnt and disfigured** corpses."

Careth reached into his right pocket, and took something out that IF couldn't see. Whatever it was, it was small enough to fit inside his clenched right fist.

"Then shouldn't you hate _**Purple Heart**_ even more than me? She failed to defend your hometown. She even got your friend's entire family killed!"

IF was still seething with anger.

"No. She did her best. It was only because we all stood behind her in Gamindustri's Darkest Hour that only my hometown was lost, rather than the whole world. I saw her fighting on the front lines with the other CPUs. I saw them fly, side by side, into the Gamindustri Graveyard. They won that day, only because every last person in Gamindustri believed in them."

Careth took a moment to catch his breath. His next words would haunt IF.

"IF, you're a smart girl, so you should be able to understand this: If Lady Neptune's own people won't back her, who will? Did those soldiers, **my comrades,** die for a lost nation? Were their deaths in vain? **Did they die for nothing?** "

He waited for a long moment to see if IF would object.

She didn't, so he continued.

"Even now, Lady Purple Heart is trying her hardest to give us what we deserve. For example, that house you used to live in? There's a family of **7** now living in there, thanking their goddess for giving them a home to live in, despite their poverty. They had basically lived on the streets before."

Careth could see in IF's eyes that she had more questions about that house.

"They have kept Deco's grave clean, and still use her shrine devoted to Lady Purple Heart."

IF remembered that Deco was a rather devout follower of Lady Purple Heart, but after Deco's death, IF had cynically believed that Deco had been misled.

"Lady Purple Heart inspires us all. Why do you think Deco took you in? Lady Purple Heart teaches us that we are all _family_. Family takes care of each other. Even after her death, on her will, Deco was thanking Lady Purple Heart."

"What on Gamindustri could she possibly thank _**Lady Purple Heart**_ for?!" IF shouted out.

IF had been mostly listening to what Careth had to say, but she was still not convinced. Her mind flashed with images of Deco working her hardest, yet still being unable to afford that potentially life-saving operation.

"She thanked our goddess for giving her such a young, adorable and energetic daughter. Deco was a widow after The Great War, and refused to remarry. She wrote that she would finally be reunited with her true love in Celestia, but she regretted not having a few more years to see you grow up into an adult."

IF's eyes widened yet again. She was absolutely shocked. She didn't believe the Basilicom officials when they told her that Deco didn't want IF to see her will until IF was an adult. However, IF now understood why, as tears began to roll down her face for the first time in many years.

Deco never said much about her personal life as she didn't want to make 6 year old IF cry.

She didn't want for IF to read the will, since it would just break her heart yet again.

"Deco's faith was not misplaced, IF. I've visited the Basilicom enough to see the goddess, sitting day-by-day in front of a desk of literal mountains of paperwork. Her exhaustion is weighing upon her like a sack of stones, and yet she still pushes on. The pile of empty inkwells, the trash bins filled to the brim with broken quills, and those bags underneath her eyes: Can you truly say that she's doing nothing?"

Though she had stopped crying, IF was panged with guilt and sadness.

"This is why it's my duty to serve Lady Purple Heart until the end. She deserves her people's support. My friends fell in battle to save this dimension, and this country, from utter ruin. This volunteering is the least I can do to give back a little to this nation…"

Careth paused before adding, "If I couldn't help _his_ immediate family, this is the least I can do for our nationwide family."

IF remained silent. She was filled with guilt regarding her previous hatred of Lady Purple Heart.

Careth interpreted IF's silence, however, as not accepting Lady Purple Heart. He sighed, and spoke.

"IF, you're old enough now to make your own opinions, and you might think I'm just an old man stuck in his ways. That's fine. I just want you to at least understand her position-"

"No, I understand that, but…" IF quietly mumbled.

"She's trying her hardest, and everyone still faithful is doing the same, still fighting to restore Planeptune as the anchor point for Purple Progress."

"If so, then why? Why has the nation fallen into such a sorry state?"

Careth smiled sadly.

"IF, remember the Great Outredimension War?"

"What does that have to do with everything?"

"I wish I knew, IF."

Careth grimaced yet again.

"All they teach you in History class is that the CPUs fought Arfoire and the CFWs, and they won. Maybe a bit on the conscript armies and civilian casualties, but that's it."

IF was confused. Why was he bringing up the war? Careth told her long ago that Planeptune had initially rebuilt about as fast as the other nations.

"IF. When there's a problem, there's always going to be roots for said problem where it all starts. The world was not the same after the Great Outredimension War."

Careth's expression darkened.

"Having served this nation for almost all my years, I've seen many things. In fact, I've seen days of peace where there was no fighting amongst the CPUs. I'd even say they were all friends."

"Then why? Why has Gamindustri fallen to this?"

IF didn't know how to make sense of this. She was born into these days of strife, but Careth had seen days before the struggle, the days of peace.

"The CPUs had a falling out a while after the war was won, when the CPU Candidates were born."

IF was puzzled. What were the CPU Candidates?

"What are these… CPU Candidates?"

IF tasted the words as they rolled out of her tongue slowly, as if she was drinking an expensive wine.

"I'm actually not that surprised that you don't know about them, since you've lived in Planeptune for your entire life. They're basically CPUs, but if the main CPU of the nation falls, they'll take over. It's like a combination of a helping hand and an heir to the throne."

IF realized where Careth was going with this information.

"If my hunch is right… then Planeptune doesn't have a CPU Candidate?"

"You are absolutely correct, IF. This is why Lady Purple Heart is struggling to keep up with the other CPUs."

IF now even felt guiltier. IF had erroneously fomented her hatred for Lady Purple Heart. IF had blamed her for the struggle that Planeptune was going through, without seeing the complete picture. She had hated the fact that Lady Purple Heart's nation was falling vastly behind the others, but failed to realize how exceedingly outgunned her goddess was. By losing faith in Lady Purple Heart and her nation, IF was only exacerbating the problem, contributing to Planeptune's decline. Where was the logic in that?

"I understand…"

Careth smiled.

"Glad you do, IF. It's time to let go of hatred."

He opened his clenched hand, only to reveal nothing. Had it been a symbolic trick all along?

"It's time to believe in something."

IF smiled softly.

"I see."

"Thank you, IF."

A smile was shared between the two, albeit a little teary.

It was just simply how it was meant to be.

* * *

Careth grasped the old dog tag he once used in his left pocket with his left hand.

He had swapped it from his right hand with his left and shoved it into his pocket whilst IF was crying.

"It's still not the time for it. She's not ready to look at it…"

Careth sighed.

The wind in the distance blew softly.

Careth pulled the dog tag out of his pocket by its chain.

The metal tag hanging in the air simply read:

 _Careth Coeur_

 _Field Medic_

 _15th Allied Regiment_

 _Planeptune-Leanbox Dual Citizen_

* * *

The past winds flowed,

The birds chirped distantly

A body laid on the bed

Stood

Fell.

She wouldn't make

She couldn't grasp

The drive

The charge

A crash,

A pain

The upper-left.

Broken

"Noire…"

The feelings held,

Never spoken.

To be for naught,

To suffer another

Without **her**

Without **them**

A lone tear,

The damnation

"We'll never be together,

Once again,

As friends…"

Another day.

"Noire…

All of you…"

A second tear,

The hurt held within

"Why…?"

Understanding never

Comprehending the end

"Noire, why…?"

Answers

Ended

Silent,

Broken.

The threads,

The connections,

To them all…

Frayed.

It was theirs.

It was ours.

Goodbye.

"Noire."


	5. Chapter 5- Past: Unison Carnival

"Do y'know something about this entire situation, Histoire?"

"We couldn't control it, Neptune. We simply didn't get a CPU Candidate."

"It's almost funny, Histoire. Maybe we did something despicable long ago, and now we're getting our just desserts?"

"I know so much, yet I couldn't help us even get the most essential thing for our nation's future," Histoire took a brief pause of contemplation, "No. Despite this, we'll keep pushing on, right? We'll keep moving forward together, right?"

"I don't know, Histoire. At least we still have some resources to work with. There's still quite a few that've kept their faith in me for this long, but we're still scavenging for every last share just to make it through. It's comforting, to know that there's still some out there that wish for Planeptune to soar. However..."

"There's almost no way for us to get out of this, is there? We're still at rock bottom, Neptune, and there's **that event** coming up."

"Well, I'll take care of that. Histoire, just make sure to not to give up, alright? We'll make it back to the top, I promise!"

"Neptune, don't put on a facade. You're sad, aren't you?"

"I—Heh, you know me too well, Histoire."

"I know you still feel betrayed after all that Blanc and Noire did, but that was then. This is now. We need to keep pushing onward in order to make it back to the top, but even then it is improbable we'll make it there. Especially since we don't really have help."

"We still have to do our best. I'll go and prepare, I suppose. I'll make a surprise entrance, and that'll hopefully raise our shares quite a bit."

"That's a bit optimistic, Neptune. But who knows? We're really down the gutter at this point."

"I'll try my best, Histoire. For you, and for Planeptune as a whole."

'For me?' Histoire involuntarily blushed as she thought to herself.

* * *

"Ai-chan!" Compa called out as she pushed open the door, the excitement pouring out of her voice.

She held up what seemed to be a pair of tickets.

"Compa! What is it?" IF replied as she sat in the living room, on the worn purple couch that she and Careth had a heartfelt talk quite some time ago, taking her attention off her favorite pink flip phone. She had recently received the phone as a gift from Compa, thus IF cherished it greatly.

Compa waved the blue colored tickets around wildly.

"Ai-chan! There was some lucky draw going on, and I signed up for it. I won and got these tickets to the Unison Carnival! It also comes with a free hotel stay over the course of the entire Carnival!"

IF's eyes bulged.

"You just said **the** Unison Carnival, right? **The** very one that happens every year at the Powerlevel Island? And you got tickets to it?"

The Unison Carnival was an annual two day-long festival that was difficult to get tickets to, especially since how popular it was with the people. The tickets that were sold at the Planeptune City Square always sold out within the first few hours, and the queue for the tickets was especially long. The tickets included a boat-ride to the venue, the Powerlevel Island.

However, it had been cancelled last year due to the overabundance of monsters that had swarmed onto Powerlevel Island.

In response to that, the Basilicom Special Forces, under orders of Lady Purple Heart, sought out to drive away and or kill all the monsters that had taken residence on Powerlevel Island.

Normally, the Basilicom wouldn't dabble in a hostile takeover by monsters in a sparsely inhabited area, but the Unison Carnival was an important part of Planeptune's history. It was celebrated every year to commemorate the defeat of Arfoire and her CFWs, and more importantly, how the CPUs had united together to achieve victory.

Careth had recently told her that the CPUs were once friends, but they definitely weren't that way now.

However, the faded friendship was still important to Planeptune, so Lady Purple Heart had ordered the Basilicom to clear out the area. They were successful in killing all of them, and all the newspapers cheered about how the Unison Carnival could start again this year.

Since it had been cancelled last year, Lady Purple Heart promised that this year's Unison Carnival would be the best one yet, and that they would double the carnival's length to four days instead of two. They would also make sure that every single booth would be top-notch quality, delivering nothing but the best for the Planeptunians.

In truth, IF had wanted to visit the Unison Carnival since she was younger, but Deco neither had the time nor health to acquire two tickets for them both. They had to settle for stories of the fireworks and cotton candy from the days of Deco's youth before the great war, when it was still called the "Planeptunian Carnival". The festival was supposed to have grown to be four times bigger since it was re-appropriated for the victory, representing the four nations. It once also attracted a worldwide audience, but was still just as crowded in recent times with only Planeptunians in attendance.

Now that IF finally had a chance to go, she had every right to be excited.

"Ai-chan?" Compa tilted her head, confusion evident within her actions.

IF shook her head.

"Ah, Compa. Sorry. Just remembering something." IF smiled.

She was still rather sad about Deco's death, but it was all over and done with. It had been quite a few years since then, after all.

"Ai-chan, you're coming along, right? You're coming, right?" Compa was practically begging IF to come along, and IF just felt that she couldn't say no.

"Definitely. What about Careth? Did he say no?" IF questioned.

It was a legitimate question. There were only two tickets, and Compa was asking IF whether she could come along. Compa could have asked Careth whether he wanted to come along at the Planeptune Hospital where they both worked at.

"Ah, Grandpa? He gets a free pass because he's going to be at the event, working as first response just in case anything happens! " Compa replied, smiling as she always did.

IF always found delight in looking at Compa smile that way, but she never knew why.

She then realized:

"...Why didn't he tell me then?"

Careth normally informed IF what he was going to be doing at the start of the day, but he never mentioned working at the Unison Carnival.

"Grandpa was just informed today, so don't blame him, okay?" Compa smiled once again. IF still felt enamoured by that very smile. Those alluring, amber eyes, her silky smooth hair that gently flowed down her shoulders…

IF shook her head furiously as she tried to get rid of those impure thoughts, red staining her cheeks.

Why was she feeling this way towards Compa, a friend- no, sister? IF was once again confused by the sudden influx of emotions that she had never felt before all directed towards Compa.

"Ah. Okay, I'll get ready. The Carnival starts tomorrow, right?"

A simple nod from Compa told IF all that she needed to know.

IF smiled, and stood up from the couch.

"Well, Compa, go get set! We're heading off as soon as possible."

"You're excited, aren't you, Ai-chan?"

IF's smile told Compa that she had came to the right conclusion.

* * *

"We're here!" IF announced to nobody in particular, her plain, black sling bag around her shoulder, overlapping her coat. It was about the size of a tennis bag, and held both IF's and Compa's clothing within. Her Qatars were sheathed within her coat, just in case anything happened.

After a hellish boat ride with a captain that insisted on going extremely fast, they had finally arrived at their destination.

It was kind of enjoyable though, since Compa had been clinging on to her for dear life…

Well, IF would never admit that.

They had requested for the boat ride to be one day earlier, as they did not want the hotel to be too packed when they acquired a room.

The harbour where the boat had docked at was rather simple: a wooden quay that connected to the metal-base on the island itself.

The sea reflected the sun's rays, glistening with light as the slow, flowing waves slushed back and forth with the warm breeze.

With the breeze, it brought along the unmistakable thing the presence of the ocean always entailed: the distinguishable stinging, salty scent that was always prominent near the waters.

"Ai-chan! The hotel is that way, right?" Compa pointed to the tall white building in the distance. As she spoke, the woolen pouch that she had knitted to match her clothing swung as she carried it over her shoulder.

IF, with her sharp and trained eyes could barely make out the letters 'H-t-l' on the sign at the entrance of the building and other words that seemed to be in a foreign language.

"I think it is! Let's go, Compa!"

IF took Compa's hand, and they ran together towards their towering destination.

* * *

IF and Compa walked into the hotel lobby, discussing about the sign they saw at the entrance of the hotel.

There were people at the lobby: A few cleaners, the receptionist and some others that were all busy with their tasks, obviously preparing for the big day tomorrow. They were the only hotel on the island, after all.

IF took time to admire the decor.

The hotel had glossy marble tiles as its flooring, strange insignias imprinted on the wall that seemed to be the logo for the hotel: A vase half filled with water, with a sunflower floating inside. The lines that patterned the outside of the vase were designed intricately, and IF could tell that it was a master's work. Vines grew from the inside to the outside of the vase, as if signifying an overgrowth of some sort.

IF didn't understand what the design meant, however.

Large stone pillars were scattered about the lobby. IF couldn't fully wrap her arms around their incredible girth.

The lobby for the hotel did not skimp on its furniture as well, with the extravagant white couches, snow-colored ottomans, and the marble receptionist counter that altogether made up the room.

"'Hôtel de l'eau', huh? There's an astounding amount of white in here. Almost thought I was in Lowee for a second. Anyway, any idea on what the name means, Compa?" IF turned to face the aforementioned, the bag slung around her shoulder swinging with her as she turned.

"Um... I think it means Hotel by the Water? It's in a really old language Grandpa taught me the basics of some years ago…" Compa pointed her index finger at her lip, as she was confused with the use of the words.

"I don't think it even matters to us. Let's just go and check in, Compa!" IF strud forward, and Compa followed suit.

* * *

The room that came with the ticket was extravagant, to say the least. Located on the fifteenth floor, the bed was soft, springy and was just perfect to sleep on. The pillowcases were plain and linen, the bedsheets were plain as well, but were made with good materials. The wallpaper was plain as well, but there were some small flower patterns on them. The curtains were also plain white, and were also made of linen. There was too much plain white in IF's opinion. There was also a white chair, with golden linings on it that was made also of good material, and the table was of the same design, not too wide, and just perfect for one person's use. It seemed perfect for the two of them… but there was one problem.

"There's only one bed, and not even a couch…?" IF sighed, thinking that it was a cruel joke of some sort. She had her feelings to deal with, and now this?

"What's the matter, Ai-chan? We can share the bed together! Isn't that great?" Compa exclaimed, still simply overly excited from being able to attend the carnival in the first place.

"Compa, uh… you don't really get it, do you?" IF was flustered, and didn't know how to react to this turn of events.

Compa tilted her head in confusion.

"Get what, Ai-chan?"

"N-Never mind! It's fine." IF flushed yet again.

Compa smiled at the red-faced IF, not knowing what kind of thoughts were rampant in IF's mind at that moment.

"If you say so, Ai-chan!" Compa let out a tiny giggle.

"H-Hey! What are you laughing at?" IF puffed her cheeks in false anger, whilst her face was still red from the situation.

"Just thinking about how cute you were, acting like that."

IF's face reddened further.

"C-Cute? You think I'm… c-cute?"

The feelings that IF held were pouring over at this point, and she was struggling to calm herself down.

"Yup! Cute. C-U-T-E." Compa smiled once again.

IF was basically steaming from that remark.

"U-uh… ugh." IF clenched her heart, and keeled over, fainting onto the carpeted floor.

The last thing she heard was Compa calling her name.

* * *

IF had finally awoken from her slumber after an hour, but she was in an extremely awkward position: on the lap of the other person that she checked in with.

"C-Compa, why am I on your lap?!" IF scrambled to get her bearings, blushing all the way as she struggled to get up from Compa's lap.

"Ai-chan! I was so worried! I thought you had left me…" Compa hugged IF, squashing IF's head between her two 'pillows'.

IF blushed heavily.

"C-Compa… I-I..." She was at a loss: her feelings were already reaching their peak, and sooner or later they would erupt like a volcano. Despite her current situation, she supposed it was now or never.

"Yes, Ai-chan? Do you need some medication to feel better? I'll get some for you right now!" Compa seemed unaware of what IF was about to let out from her mouth. She stood up, and left the room quickly, dropping IF on the floor as she did.

"I… Ugh. There she goes... I guess it's not the time yet, then."

She resolved to tell Compa someday about her feelings.

They had all the time in the world together, she supposed.

* * *

It was the first day of the carnival, and so IF and Compa were walking around together, looking for some attractions to try out, or possibly buy something to commemorate their attendance on the carnival.

"You two little ladies having a date at the carnival?"

A raggedy, yet masculine voice called out to the pair, beckoning them to turn around to his booth.

"D-date?!" As IF turned to face the bearded old man, her blush formed yet again.

Why she felt like this towards Compa, she could never understand why.

"No, mister! We're just looking at attractions together, as sisters!"

Compa replied to the tall, old bearded man, smiling happily as she did.

Was she happy that she was at the carnival with IF, enjoying her time as she did?

IF wondered what was going through Compa's mind.

While she couldn't understand her feelings, she knew from that, at least that Compa looked at her as a sister.

She felt a little sad about it, somehow.

It was as if she wanted more than that, but, wasn't she already satisfied with what she already had with Compa?

She wanted to keep it like this, where she could be happy together with Compa for the rest of her days, but there was a sense of longing.

For something… more.

"Ah. You two looked like a cute couple together, so I assumed that you were such. Anyway, would you like to buy anything?" The vendor motioned towards his wide array of merchandise.

IF observed the merchandise that he had in stock.

Despite her embarrassment from the previous remark, she was able to figure out what kind of booth the old man was vendoring.

Decorations and lucky charms. Souvenirs of sorts.

There was a wide array of decorative items, but what caught her eye was the lone dreamcatcher at the far right of the booth.

A purple, wooden ring that held the spiderweb of strings together in the middle, feathers decorating it on the sides. The wood that held feathers down with gravity were engraved with some rather strange scribbles that seemed to mean something that she couldn't figure out, for the life of her.

Compa was rather interested in it as well, judging from her not-so-discrete peeking at the aforementioned item.

"Compa, do you want the dreamcatcher? I can buy it for you, if you want." IF offered Compa, fingering the inside pocket of her coat that held her wallet.

A smile formed on Compa's face. Yet again, IF felt enamoured by it.

"Ai-chan, it's okay. You don't really need to buy me anything! I'm happy enough to just be with you today."

A subtle blush formed on IF's face, knowing what those words entailed.

Compa was just happy to be in IF's company, and didn't really want anything, just to be together.

The old man smiled as he saw the scene before him.

"You two lovebirds, seriously. You two can have the dreamcatcher, it's something that I've really wanted to do away with for a very long time, despite the sentimental value that it has with me. It needs a nice new home, and I think you two can give it just that." The old man, behind the counter picked up the dreamcatcher and offered it to IF and Compa.

"U-uh?! But, we can't really take it for free, I'll pay for it!" IF got her wallet out, and grabbed a small wad of cash from it to pay the old man.

The old man shook his head, signalling IF to put her cash back into her wallet.

"I told you, you two can have it. I insist."

"If you say so…" IF took the dreamcatcher, and put it into her inner coat pocket.

"Do you want me to tell you what it stands for?" The old man offered.

IF motioned for the old man to proceed.

"I can't really tell you what the writing means, but a dreamcatcher helps to 'filter' bad dreams away. However, the person who handed this to me said that this dreamcatcher means more than that: It's used to protect the holder from something that's coming. No clue what she was referring to, but… I guess it's good to be protected from something you have no idea of; what it could be and what it could do to you."

IF, with a bright smile, saluted the old man in response.

"I see. Thank you so much for this. Compa, let's go."

As the two walked away from the booth, the old man sighed.

"Careth, you bloody maggot. You're doing something interesting with those two, aren't you? Making me give them 'that' charm..."

Footsteps were heard from behind the old man.

"I just want the best for those two, you know? I know IF has the capability to do what I can't, Eau."

A mocking snicker was heard from Eau.

"Bloody hell, you're going to introduce her into our 'world'? What about your other granddaughter? What are you going to do about her?"

Careth sighed, and prepared himself for the words that were about to come out.

"She's going to be what she wants to be, Eau. I have no control over their decisions. IF, however, wants to protect whomever is close to her. I called in another favor to help with that. IF has grown well over those 2 years with Fusil, and that, I thank Fusil for."

Eau's eyes bulged, knowing what the implications those words had.

"Careth, you're insane. You asked Fusil to train her? The 'Remedy'? Isn't she like, what, 78 years old? How does that even work?"

Careth then smiled, as if he knew something that the world would beg him the answer for.

"She found the fountain of youth, Eau. That's why she's still able to train people… nah. I'm joking. She's not even that old, despite what she says. Her real age is something she'll probably never disclose. The only thing I'm aware of is that she uses magic to look older."

Eau sniggered at the dry attempt at humor.

"You still have your 'pivoting' sense of humor, it seems. Though, that raises some questions about how old she was when she fought in the war… I'd best not try to guess a woman's age. It'll just be detrimental to my health. But that raises one question, Careth. You're going through with 'it'? You sure about it, Careth? How will IF react? She's the most unstable element here."

Careth smiled sadly.

"I know. But she'll stay loyal to Planeptune either way, Eau. I've made sure of that. Back to 'it', the reports already show that Lastation are putting their plans into motion. With this, I'll be at the frontline, but there will be a lot of civilians in the area, including my granddaughter. Despite the danger I'm putting my granddaughter in, it's for the best. IF and Compa don't really need me anymore, after all. IF can protect Compa, and IF will receive extra training from Fusil. That's the best I can give them as a 'parting' gift."

Eau smiled at Careth.

"Then I'll respect your 'will'. I'll also make sure they'll make it over the sea safely as well."

Careth grinned, and gave Eau a thumbs up, and turned back to walk to his post.

"Thank you. I'll take care of things from here, alright? You guys can finally withdraw from here."

Eau nodded, and waved goodbye.

"Thanks for this, Careth."

* * *

The second day arrived quickly, after the two tucked into bed… together.

It was rather awkward for IF, as she kept sputtering in embarrassment from the slightest touch from Compa.

Her reactions were getting even more dangerous. What if Compa realized what IF was feeling?

What if she... rejected her?

IF shook her head wildly. It was best not to think of the worst.

But what if…?

What if… it destroyed the relationship they had?

The things that would happen to her…

No, she couldn't think that way. Compa would never…

"Ai-chan?" Compa waved her open palms in front of IF's eyes from behind.

IF broke out from her insidious conflict, and glanced back at Compa.

"Ah, Compa! You ready to go?"

Compa nodded, signifying her agreement.

"Always ready for you, Ai-chan!"

The two strode off together, as they always did.

Only that today, IF was walking slower than Compa.


	6. Chapter 6- Past: Dissolution

"U-urk!?"

Histoire keeled over and clutched her chest in pain as a sudden surge of agony encompassing her being and soul turned her heart inside out.

She felt nothing but a sense of dread.

It felt as if another Histoire from another dimension had her life snuffed out like a pitiful ember.

Was this a sign that something terrible was about to happen?

Neptune had gone out to attend the Unison Carnival a few hours ago, so could it…?

As Histoire pondered the possibility, she considered Neptune's situation.

The time it would take for Neptune to fly over there in her CPU form would be about two hours or so.

However, with the stormy winds that circled around the island, it was too risky for Neptune to fly there in her CPU form, and thus:

What she had to do in order to reach her destination, was...

She would have to fly to the Planeptune Harbor, and ride on a boat to the aforementioned area.

The boats had magic barriers built into them to fend against the storms, but Neptune didn't have anything of the sort.

It was times like this that Histoire felt terrible about Planeptune's current state of disrepair.

Neptune was a great CPU, –no, a great person in general.

Why did she end up getting the short end of the stick?

Why, just why did she end up like this...?

If only if she could organize her tome's records in a systematic order, so that she could have all the information that she had and wanted at her beck and call. However, she didn't have time to do so, with all the paperwork and things Histoire and Neptune had to keep Planeptune running, even at this pitiful level.

Histoire had just enough time to compile a little information, and with that little information, she judged the situation.

The main reason why Histoire felt apprehension was related to their border policies employed during the Carnival.

The Unison Carnival was the time where most people could enter Planeptune easily from other nations, since they kept it open during this time. This also meant that spies or radicals could enter Planeptune easily.

Their nationwide security was already down the gutter, and this just made it worse.

What if those subversive groups made their way to the Unison Carnival?

It was the perfect time, what with the massive amount of civilians in the area from the reopening of the carnival…

Histoire shook her head rapidly.

"No, don't think like that, Histoire. It's best to think positively."

But what if? What if it happened?

Despite Histoire warning Neptune about this, Neptune still wanted to keep 'their arms open wide for the others, just in case'.

Histoire couldn't deny Neptune. Neptune's heart was already broken from the betrayal from the other CPUs, which had already caused her psyche to be beyond repair.

Histoire wanted Neptune to be the happy-go-lucky 'main character' that she once knew once again. If opening their border, despite all the dangers that it would bring about, kept Neptune from becoming a ghost, a hollow shell of what she used to be... kept Neptune from ending up like ' **her'**...

Histoire would wholeheartedly go along with it. Neptune needed her happiness– no, she needed her _**hope**_. It was the only thing that kept her going.

She could see a broken Neptune within her mind's eye.

A Neptune, with a head down low.

A Neptune, with a blank, dead look in her eyes.

The land of desolation: Planeptune.

If this kept going on...

Histoire didn't know what was going to happen.

She just knew, as the 'History' of Gamindustri…

That whatever was about to happen, it was going to break Neptune's heart into even smaller pieces.

Histoire sighed. It was almost time.

Was this the beginning of the end?

Planeptune's future never seemed so bleak before today.

Histoire only, only dreaded:

That all she did, all that she had accomplished with Neptune,

Would amount to nothing.

Histoire cursed her existence, and who she was,

If only if she could speak the future, and not the past:

She, with her head held up high,

Felt a tear fall down from her eyes.

* * *

"It's just another day, huh?"

As she walked down the quay to the Powerlevel Island, she felt the warm sun heat up both herself and the island.

Clad in her usual hoodie one-piece, she paced slowly onto the island.

Neptune already knew something horrible was about to happen, with her luck and all.

"As much as I'd like to say that they're still my friends, they won't hesitate to end me. How quaint."

Neptune wrinkled her nose as she took a whiff of the salty scent of the sea.

A sad smile formed.

"I want to know, for sure…"

Neptune let out a sigh.

"Have they really given up on me?"

Neptune raised her hand to the sky, the palm facing the sun.

"Noire, Blanc and Vert…"

She clenched her hand into a fist.

"Uni, Rom, Ram and Ciel: the thing I could never have, the thing I could never acquire..."

She clenched her teeth along with the fist.

"They all, really…"

The subtle twitch of her eye.

"Heh… It's come to this, huh, Noire?"

She unclenched her fist and teeth, her eyes covered by her purple hair.

"It's really… come to this, huh?"

Water built up within the chestnuts of her eyes.

"Noire, my dear…"

It was indeed out of character for her, but she couldn't handle it anymore.

"I don't know what to do now, Histoire. What do I do…?"

The pain she held within had built up over the decades, centuries even.

"Noire, I know that someday you'll break out of it…"

She stretched out her right arm.

Purple binary codes circled her outstretched arm.

Her katana materialised within them.

"But what about me?"

Men and women, all clad in red cloaks that bore the insignia of Lowee appeared before her.

"What about me…?"

A small grin formed on her face.

"You all… don't know what you're walking into..."

The supposed adversaries drew and summoned their weapons:

Guns, rapiers, spears, and magic staffs.

"In that case…"

The grin widened.

"You aren't leaving here alive."

The hostile party charged at the CPU, some staying back to fire their guns and to charge their magic.

She raised her head.

The crazed look on her face, the twisted grin,

It was truly enough to scare anyone lesser than her to their deathbed.

She took a deep breath, raising her katana slowly over her shoulder.

Her sword took an eerie glow of purple, as if damning the world for its existence.

"[ _ **Mega-D-Drive]!**_ "

The blood that would stain her jacket thoroughly…

Would scar her people for life.

* * *

"Son of a bitch!"Careth swore as he ducked behind cover, debris sent flying from the prior explosion missing him by just a hair.

The island was in ruins, rubble lay about, and the ground was uprooted by explosions.

Behind those mounds of dirt, broken concrete, and shattered pavement were Careth and Eau, fighting for their lives.

"Careth, you okay mate? That was bloody close!"

Eau expressed his concern for his old squadmate, in his own crass manner.

"I'm alright! Our main priority right now is to find my granddaughters and get them the hell out of here!"

In one smooth motion, Careth flicked out the cylinder of his revolver and poured the empty shells out.

He quickly withdrew a speed loader from his jacket and jammed the rounds into the cylinder of the heavily modified, custom Nagant M1895.

The reason why he used a revolver was due to the fact that Planeptune's energy rifles were too complicated to handle, whereas a revolver was simple: Load the cylinder, cock the action, and pull the trigger.

Revolvers also didn't require a month of training to learn how to use properly.

Additionally, this revolver, with its modifications, was made to suit him in every situation possible.

It had served him well in The War, and continued to serve him well today.

"A bloody oversight, we goddess-damned had. We forgot to check on Lowee! Twats, they took advantage of the Carnival border policies, and attacked the bloody Carnival itself!" Eau cursed their lack of foresight for not checking on Lowee's movements around the Planeptune border.

"Well, now's not the time for complaining… Wait, is that-"

As Careth went out of cover to shoot down another Loweean saboteur, he noticed familiar faces in the distance.

"What is it?!"

Eau cursed as more fire spells rained down around them, scorching their improvised cover.

"It's IF and Compa!"

Careth narrowed his eyes to see what was going on in the distance.

There was an ethereal blue hexagonal-grid barrier surrounding the two, most likely set up by IF.

Careth knew of her self-imposed magic training, but however...

"Why the hell are they out in the open like that?! Don't they know how bloody dangerous it is?! That swollen blue-translucent hexagonal ball-thing that they call a barrier doesn't look too strong either!"

Eau found it unfathomable that they would go out in the open in that manner, in the middle of all the gun and magic fire that was happening.

"Guess we've got to bail them out. Got any of your diverters with you at the moment, Eau?"

Careth inquired his old squadmate as he holstered his revolver.

"Who do you think I am, a bloody forgetful twat? I always have 'em." Eau grinned in response.

"Let's do this, Eau. Just like old times, yeah?"

Careth stretched his hand out towards Eau, as if motioning for a handshake.

Eau grabbed two black balls from his pants pocket, and passed one to Careth.

"Just like old times, of course. We weren't part of the Special Forces for nothing."

Eau grasped the ball in his hand and fiddled with it, as if pondering why they hadn't enacted their 'plan' yet.

Careth signalled Eau that he was ready, with a thumb up as the signal, and of course, a small grin.

The two crushed the black balls within their hands.

Black smoke engulfed their bodies, and they disappeared from sight.

* * *

"Compa! I can't hold on for much longer, whatever they're using is too strong for my barrier!"

IF panted heavily, as sweat dripped down her brow.

Her barrier was straining IF's body to the limit, as her each shot or spell it deflected drained her magic reserves.

Collapsing to one knee, IF could feel the unholy exertion taking ahold of her.

The barrier flickered in and out in its existence.

Prior to this, IF and Compa were already in the open when the terrorist attack had begun.

It was difficult to get into cover, due to all the offensive magic and gunfire flying hither and thither, being traded by the combat medics and the terrorists.

She had set up a certain type of barrier around Compa and herself in response, but however...

Her barrier was made with only basic understanding of how the spell functioned, and with her magic reserves absolutely drained, reinforcing the barrier was out of the question.

All she knew was that she needed to focus on making a hexagonal-grid with her magic, and will it around her body.

With these basics, IF could easily make a barrier capable of withstanding sustained gunfire and or offensive magic—for herself.

IF had another person with her, and that need to protect Compa meant the barrier had to be larger, which in turn multiplied the drain on IF's magic reserves.

Another withering burst of laser rifle fire ate into IF's barrier, making the petite brown haired girl grimace in pain as every last drop of her magic was being called upon.

In order for IF to get out of this dire situation she would have to—no. She couldn't do that.

If she abandoned Compa, it would be betrayal at its worst, and her heart would just be unable to cope with something like that.

No way in hell that she would do that.

But what could she do now?

Her magic reserves were close to emptying due to the massive barrier that she had constructed, and holding on for much longer was simply impossible.

Unless reinforcements arrived, there was no way for IF and Compa to survive the onslaught of gun and magic together.

Why had she even considered it as an option?

"It's alright, Ai-chan. It's alright."

The quiet, defeated tone of Compa's voice, and her hunched shoulders told IF everything that she needed to know.

Compa had given up.

Seeing Compa, the ever-jovial nurse like this… was just heartbreaking to IF.

She needed to do something, quickly and fast.

Despite every fiber and tendon in her body screaming in anguish, IF stood up.

She turned and looked at Compa, slowly placing an arm over her shoulder.

"Compa... trust me. We'll make it out of here, alright?"

Something in IF's eyes and voice reassured Compa, that whatever was being said was utter truth, and there was no way, in any dimension, that she would yield.

"Ai-chan…"

With those teary eyes that Compa had, with the simple nickname that Compa had given IF, they were now the motivations for IF's desire:

For nothing, but for both of them, especially Compa, to survive.

IF racked her mind. Was there anything she could do?

With a sudden spark of enlightenment, she remembered:

' _The barrier spell that I developed, 'Hex-Drive', allows you to expel the hexagonal grids and hit the targets of your choosing. The defense of a barrier, whilst having the attacking power of an offensive spell, all in one. Amazing, isn't it?'_

With that thought,

She knew.

Although she hadn't mastered the spell yet, she tried.

With a cry for salvation,

With an outstretched hand forward,

She forced her magic energy out,

And into the barrier it went.

The ball crackled red,

An implosion, it seemed:

In a eardrum-warping screech,

A blinding, staggering light was all that was left.

* * *

"What the-?! Eau! Make a barrier facing IF and Compa now! IF is forcing an insane amount of magic into her barrier!"

Visible blue sparks of magic were being expelled from IF's hand, and with Eau's experience with magic, he knew exactly what was going to happen.

"Is she-?! Damn, nothing ever goes according to plan, does it?!"

Eau's eyes widened in realization.

He wasted no time, and threw a purple ball from his pocket into the ground in front of them.

With an almost ethereal glassy sheen, and with little to no time to spare, a diamond-shaped purple barrier formed in front of them.

As Careth and Eau watched the barrier turn white within their smoke-invisibility cloak, as the eardrum-rupturing screech from the barrier that rivaled the screams of a thousand banshees reached their ears, they knew.

This was no ordinary spell.

It was, after all…

A pain that was about to follow.

* * *

"Hmm? What is–"

Neptune paused her slashing for a second and stared off into the distance, where a blinding blue light seemed to form out of nothing.

She squinted her eyes and tried to make out what exactly was going on.

The light slowly faded, and when it faded completely, out came a brunette that lay fainted on the ground, with another shell-shocked cream-blonde haired girl that sat on the ground.

The area around them was a complete wasteland, and she saw multiple Loweean radicals that had their bodies completely dismembered and distorted from the blast.

There seemed to be hexagonal blue grids that seemed to protrude from some of the bodies as well.

The grids were fading slowly as well.

"Was that a barrier expulsion spell? That was rather impressive. It was rather precise for one too..."

She mused to herself, as she cut down the final Loweean saboteur that had been begging for his life.

"The damage caused by the spell was nothing short of amazing. Hmm…"

She sighed as she sheathed her trusty katana.

"Well, there's not much I can do right now. Maybe I can call in a favor from Kei to find out who exactly did that. For now, I've got to get back to Planeptune to tell Histoire about this."

She smiled to herself.

"Maybe I could..."

She stared off into the distance yet again, knowing what she had in mind for the unknown girl.

* * *

 _At the same time, in another dimension..._

" **Damn you… Histoire! You betrayed me! Why?!** "

As the second Deity of Sin dodged the never-ending pouring rain of light fired down by Histoire, she cursed her once and past Oracle with unforgiving hatred for her betrayal.

Nepgear had still not summoned her sword, the physical reminder of the fact that her friends had died for nothing, as she didn't want to kill Histoire.

She wanted answers on why Histoire had left to rebel against her, on why she had left her to rule alone.

She had walked into the Planeptower after 'cleansing' the heretics, 'The Uprising', they were called, just like any other day since the citizens found out that the Deity of Sin's powers lay inside her. As she walked, cursing the people who rebelled against her, a yellow magic circle with the oriental symbol for 'bind' centred around many other contours appeared before her firing golden chains, obviously to capture and or to detain her.

Thankfully, she managed to dodge and destroy the chains in time...

And now, she was fighting the one, as far as she knew, that had set up that trap.

' _Dodge left, then right… then right again... damn, I've got to jump now!'_

She silently chanted the movements she needed to carry out to dodge to herself, cursing fervently when a beam of light that Histoire aimed and shot at her feet which would've hit her hard and painfully, had she not jumped in time.

She flipped backwards and landed on her feet, her sailor dress fluttering with her movements.

' _How does she still have the mana to fire so many shots of that spell_ _at me? That trap that she tried to use to capture me had to have drained most of her mana. Histoire might be the tome of History, but she doesn't have unlimited mana. After that high-level 'bind' spell, and these beams of light, she must be running low. So, why…? '_

Nepgear wondered while dodging to the left to avoid another light-beam that was fired at her.

"Nepgear, your tyranny as the Deity of Sin ends forever on this day! I swear it on the name of 'The Uprising'!"

Histoire declared while sitting on her floating tome, and a red magic circle with the oriental symbol for 'fire' centred around its many lines appeared before her.

' _That spell is... 'Tome of Fire'! I can't dodge that! I have to use_ **that** then…'

Nepgear mentally prepared herself and channeled magic in her hand for the spell that she was about to cast.

"...'The Uprising', huh? Try this on for size then, Histoire!"

Nepgear pointed her right index finger at Histoire's magic circle, forming a ball of dark purple energy at her fingertip.

Nepgear's hand recoiled back by a centimetre as the ball of dark purple fired, flying at almost incomprehensible speeds.

With the sound of glass shattering, the red magic circle that was about to send a whirlwind of flames in Nepgear's way imploded within itself.

Histoire's eyes widened, even if it was only just for a fraction of a second.

"It's known as a CPU's 'transitional phase', isn't it? I'm no longer a CPU, but the Deity of Sin in the eyes of the people, isn't that right, Histoire? Is that why you betrayed me so?"

Nepgear scoffed in contempt, and smiled in a manic manner.

She knew that she had to take this seriously, and she was about to pay Histoire's favor of betrayal back, tenfold.

Histoire did not respond.

She simply floated at the other end of the room in silence, as if she were a stone statue.

The stone statue finally broke out of her façade within a few moments, and with her small stature, stretched her right arm forward.

Another magic circle, one that Nepgear recognized all too well, appeared below her.

A multitude of circles, one in the centre, one at the north, south, east and west points, and ones surrounding the centre as if it were some sort of enhanced linear railgun sniper scope:

This was a spell that Nepgear could not shrug aside.

' _ **[Tome: Histoire]**_ _?! She's not even trying to apprehend me now, she's trying to kill me!'_

Nepgear panicked as she recognized the spell, knowing very well that it would outright kill even her if it was casted.

The spell worked in that it would change 'History' in a certain area, where the magic circle laid.

It was repurposed to annihilate the target completely from the realm of existence, so that they would never exist in the first place.

While Histoire could, in fact, change 'History' throughout the world, the amount of mana required to do so was beyond her.

The spell's mana cost worked proportional to how much matter was in the area of effect.

' _Then… I've got to…'_

Nepgear sighed. She hadn't wanted to do **that** this early, and neither did she want to kill Histoire, but if she didn't, she would die!

She sighed internally to calm herself, knowing she could no longer hold back.

"You underestimate me, Histoire."

A single statement:

A taunt, it was.

The Planeptower seemed to shift and shake at the intonation of Nepgear's words, at the very words she spoke, and the room that both of them were in seemed to darken as the seconds ticked by.

The room's temperature seemed to fall drastically.

"You're trying too hard for nothing, Histoire."

Nepgear stomped her feet upon the ground, the movement sending her hair in front of her eyes.

With that simple movement, a pulse of dark purple magic energy from Nepgear's feet covered the magic circle below Nepgear, and shattered the magic circle that seemed to be her end.

"-What!? How did it-?! What is that spell?!"

Histoire could no longer hold her composure at the severity of what had just occurred, and recoiled back in shock.

"This is my judgement as the Deity of Sin, Histoire, for your betrayal. ' **Access'!** "

As Nepgear spoke that one word, she stretched her right hand forward, and the room seemed to darken.

Tendrils of dark purple energy, made of darkness that formed from the surroundings seemed to be drawn into Nepgear's outstretched hand, and the almost deranged grin that Nepgear had plastered onto her face just seemed to further fuel the dark energy.

Her hair covering her eyes only made her look as eerie as possible.

The sword that was made out of the darkened, demented power of what once was the CPUs' power had finally been released into the world after so long, in the hands of the accursed. In the right hand of Nepgear.

The ex-CPU Candidate of Planeptune, the once CPU of Planeptune…

Purple Sister, and Purple Heart…

Names that she couldn't go by any longer.

With this, she was the Deity of Sin.

The incarnation of evil.

The incarnation of destruction.

But, however...

She just couldn't.

She couldn't, with all her heart, kill people just because they existed.

She couldn't.

She couldn't kill people because they didn't **fear** her.

She **couldn't**.

But this, however, was different.

This, after all, was...

 **Revenge.**

She let her breath out softly.

"Histoire... For what you've done to me…"

The faint, dark purple glow of the sword in her right hand only enhanced her statement:

To induce fear into the people was the purpose of the existence of the Deity of Sin.

Nepgear slowly raised the sword over her head as she walked to her target.

Histoire involuntarily shook in fear from the damning aura of Nepgear and her sword.

She floated there, silently, in shock from her strongest spell being negated with no more than a single stomp.

Nepgear now, was like a lion in the savannah, waiting and watching its prey in the tall grass, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

With this realization, Histoire knew.

She was no longer the hunter;

She was the prey.

Histoire steeled herself, knowing what was to come.

' _Forgive me, Nepgear. I am sorry. Truly. I am sorry for letting you fall to this path.'_

She apologised silently.

As Nepgear paced slowly towards the petrified Histoire, she declared with fervor:

"So for that, for betraying me, I declare my verdict: **You're dead**."

Nepgear shook her head to get her hair out of her eyes, and what showed in those eyes...

No longer, Histoire realized, had Nepgear the eyes of an innocent goddess, in that place were the eyes of a forsaken CPU who would take back what the people around her had taken away.

The eyes of someone that Histoire once knew.

The eyes of someone that had lost everything that was dear to her.

The eyes of one that had been betrayed by everything in the path others had chose for her.

The eyes... of a fallen goddess.

Histoire then knew that Nepgear was no longer what she used to be.

With that realization, Histoire looked into Nepgear's eyes once again.

Histoire's eyes widened in shock for what she saw.

' _Her eyes…! How could this…?_ '

Dark blue, they now were, synonymous with darkness, with a red tint that called for blood.

The thoughts that passed through the one mind of Histoire as she knew of her second failure:

' _This is my end, huh? The end of the world… Arfoire was right. Nepgear… has become...'_

Histoire took a deep breath, and spoke with resolve as Nepgear neared three feet from her.

"Nepgear… **do it**. I cannot give you an answer for the reason behind my betrayal, but I just ask you one thing. Forgive me for what I've done to you."

Histoire closed her eyes, and accepted her incoming fate. She could do nothing, after all. Setting up the magic circle for her ultimate attack and using all of those spells took up all of her mana.

Nepgear stopped walking, her sword, sparking with dark purple energy, was fully raised over her head, two feet away from her once trusted Oracle.

"Even if you beg, I can't forgive you. But what I can do is to grant your wish, Histoire."

' _It's time for you to die, Histoire, but you… I'm sorry as well.'_

Nepgear, with that thought, swung her sword down as hard as she could possibly muster.

A single, bloody tear fell.

The scream of anguish that was let out, a scream that spoke of unadulterated pain and guilt.

"GEHA–" she paused, "– **BUUURNNNNNN!"**

A wave of dark purple energy ripped through the room, and ripped the tome of 'History' apart.

All that was seemed to be left…

Was the foreboding sound of emptiness.

* * *

"Ai... chan…?"

Compa sat on the floor, her right hand on IF who laid on the ground next to her. The nurse was filled with utter shock and dismay at the scene before her.

IF lay down on the ground next to Compa, having passed out from the magic energy that she had used.

Compa looked briefly at IF, someone whom she had spent so many years with, someone whom had just done something that she deemed unthinkable.

The island now reeked of despair, the scent of blood mixed with the salty scent of the sea encompassing the air.

As she stared at the scene around her, she saw bodies with severed limbs, torsos and others afflicted with various forms of dismemberment littered the island for as far as she could see.

Compa knew that all of this was her fault. IF had done this to protect her.

Despite being shocked to her core, despite being someone who helped whomever she could, she knew.

This had to be done. It had to be. Otherwise, more would be lost.

IF had somehow turned the barrier into a projectile-launcher, and sent the hexagonal mini-barriers flying towards the terrorists, and hadn't hurt any of the leftover combat medics that were also staring at the scene before them in shock.

With the situation being settled, only questions were left in Compa's mind.

Since when did IF have this amount of power?

For what reason did she obtain this power?

Footsteps were heard from behind her, but she ignored them.

Why? For what reason did IF acquire such astonishing power?

Compa sat there, unmoving as she thought.

" **Compa!** "

"Uwaah?!" Compa jumped in shock, and gasped as a rough hand grasped her shoulder.

"Compa, are you alright? How's IF?"

Compa knew this voice very well. She sighed, and calmed herself.

She had worried about this person as well, knowing he was here, battling for Planeptune and for them.

She smiled, and stood up with her standard optimism.

As she turned to face the person that she knew, she replied:

"Grandpa! I'm fine. Ai-chan is also alright. What about you… and…"

Compa stopped and scanned the newcomer that stood next to her somewhat scratched up grandfather, his shirt torn at the side.

It was the old man who gave her and IF the dreamcatcher. He was also scratched up with his trousers torn on the right.

Why was he here?

"Grandpa, why is he here?"

A question that she laid bare in her mind had came to the world with words that she spoke.

"Wait, not 'who is he'? Ah, that means you've met Eau...? I'll introduce him to you. He's someone whom I've worked with both during and after the war. When did you meet him, by the way?"

Something told her that her grandfather was asking a question that he already knew the answer to, but she still answered anyway.

"He gave us a dreamcatcher when we went to his store, grandpa! But you're not answering my question. Why is he here? I'm pretty sure most of the civilians have been evacuated already…"

Careth shook his head, his face darkening.

"Compa. I hate to say this to you, but most of the civilians have died in the crossfire. We haven't found any survivors as of yet, other than you two. And to answer your question, Eau was sent here as an undercover operative of sorts by Planeptune, to act as a store-owner to look out for anything suspicious."

Compa's eyes widened as the words came to her ears. They were one of the only survivors?

Hadn't Planeptune sent evacuation teams to help out with the situation?

Compa knew that her grandfather was lying in some manner regarding Eau's reason for being here. With his shifting eyebrows, and unsure tone, Compa knew her grandfather's cues too well, but she decided not to prod further.

She shrugged it aside, and asked the pervasive question that lingered in the air, her medical-protocol training coming to mind.

"But why hasn't Planeptune sent anyone to help, grandpa?"

Careth sighed, trying to relieve his stress just by a tiny bit.

"Planeptune didn't technically send anyone to help out with the situation, really. But what they did send… Well, let's just say that about 65% of the dead bodies you see around are due to her."

Compa furrowed her eyebrows. Who was 'her'? How had she done more than IF?

"Grandpa, who do you mean by 'her'?"

Careth grimaced, and he gave his answer to the question that burnt so brightly.

"Lady Purple Heart."

With that revelation, her eyes widened.

That simple revelation had given her the answer, the reasons behind so many things that she had noticed.

The reason was why most of the bodies looked like they were sliced apart in such a neat, precise fashion, unlike the forceful, explosive nature of IF's spell.

The reason was why there were only about ten people firing at them as IF erected her massive barrier, when there were a lot more terrorists, as far as she could see.

They were, after all, focusing their firepower on Lady Purple Heart.

Of course, with the amount of bodies sliced apart, clad in red cloaks that lay dead on the battlefield, she knew that Planeptun–, no, Lady Purple Heart herself had won them this battle.

A rough voice barged into the hypothetical wall of Compa and Careth's conversation.

"But really, your 'lil -ol girl, IF, was it, surprised me quite a bit, Careth! Using 'that woman's' spell… She'll become a force to be reckoned with in the future, for real! It really hit our barrier hard. Seriously, damn me if I've ever seen anything ever come close to shattering my barrier."

The abrasive tone and brash words that Eau employed was somewhat staggering to her.

What ever happened to the kind store-owner that gave them the dreamcatcher?

Compa reckoned that it was a question that was best left unanswered.

"It surprised me as well. I wonder where she learnt it…"

Compa was a little confused. Why was her grandfather acting so shifty and unsure today?

' _I guess he has his reasons. This situation might have shaken him up a little. Well, it definitely did for me and Ai-chan…'_

Eau then suddenly slung his arm over Careth's shoulder, breaking the mood as if it was nothing more than cheap, faux glass.

"Well, who's gonna clean this mess up? I'm not going to. You do it, Careth!"

Careth sighed once again, as he pushed Eau's arm away from him. Today just seemed like a horrible day for him.

"I don't have the means to do so, so no way in hell. And anyway, look at the damage Lowee has done to the island, Eau. There's no way that Planeptune is going to clean this up. Most likely outcome would be that they demolish the island, burn it, or leave it be. Most likely, with Planeptune's current protocol and situation and all, the latter."

The almost sickeningly sweet smile that formed on Eau's face made Compa suddenly very uncomfortable. It just felt… wrong.

"Leave it be? That's not very eco-friendly, is it? The gu–, I mean, Planeptune will probably clean it up, I bet you!"

Careth grinned in return, knowing that his partner had just made a wager that he couldn't win.

"I'll take you up on that bet, Eau. How much are you willing to part with?"

Compa was rather surprised. Her grandfather never really told her about Eau, and now he was just here, acting like he and her grandfather had been friends for uncountable centuries.

If she had to be honest, it was rather bizarre. Two 60 year old men, give or take, acting like excitable children on a field trip.

Well, she hated to ruin it, but she had to ask a question.

"Uh, sorry grandpa, but how do we get back to Planeptune? I can help carry Ai-chan all the way back!"

As she was about to bend over to pick up IF, Eau stopped her with a tap on her shoulder.

"You sure a young maiden like you can carry her? I'll do it for you."

Compa felt a little insulted by that statement. Was he really underestimating her? But in all honesty, there wasn't really much to get angry over. The remark that Eau had made was somewhat justified, and she squashed what little annoyance that she had.

She was about to say that she could handle it, but before she could, her grandfather cut her off.

"I assure you, Eau. Compa can carry IF fine. She might not look it, but she's incredibly strong. Once, I heard, she carried two casualties from a fire accident at once over her shoulders all the way from Planeptune's general district, running all the way to the hospital in about ten minutes. I don't think carrying Iffy all the way to Planeptune will take even half of the effort that it took to do that."

Eau raised his right eyebrow.

"Really? The general district is about a forty minute walk from the hospital, and she ran that distance? Not bad, missy. I apologise for underestimating you. Go ahead then, carry on!"

"It's fine, mister! It's okay."

Compa smiled, knowing that some of her work was recognized by her grandfather.

Careth then suddenly sighed, fingering his temples as he did.

"Receive a call from **them** yet, Eau? I think we're ready for an evac."

Eau gave a small thumbs up.

"Got one earlier. We'll be getting a boat ride to Planeptune's outskirts in about five minutes, since they've already cleared out the entire island. Oh yeah, Careth! Purple Heart also seemed to recognize IF's efforts. It seems that she's caught her eye. "

An eyebrow raised.

"Really now? This will complicate our plans by just a little. Alright then, we'll get ready. Compa, you get IF, and we'll move out from here."

"I got it!"

Compa bent over and picked IF up, holding her in a bridal carry.

Eau snickered.

"Pfft. Heh, With that sort of pose, you two look like you're some sort of young couple. It'd be a lot more fitting if IF was doing the carrying, though."

Compa flushed red, her mind focusing on one point that Eau had made.

' _A co-couple?! Wh-which means...'_

In her thoughts of such a possibility, a scene formed in her mind's eye.

A church, the bells that entailed a wedding, ringing as the cherry blossoms fell from the sky around them…

IF, clad in a suit that fit so perfectly on her frame and herself, in a white, extravagant wedding dress, holding each other's' hands at the end of the ever-so-white aisle…

Compa looked around, breathing in the scene that formed around her.

Her grandfather, giving her a thumbs up of approval;

Her colleagues from the hospital, cheering her on for the occasion that was to be;

And IF, next to her, giving a heartwarming smile that was meant for nothing but a lover.

They faced each other, IF's right hand raising with Compa's left, rising close to their chests.

Their heartbeats both quickening as they moved in sync.

IF moved ever so closer to Compa's face, cupping her right cheek with her left hand.

Slowly, but surely…

They were now merely a breath apart.

Compa took a whiff of the delectable scent that IF had, the intoxicating smell taking over her senses completely as she did.

The smell of the woodlands, with a small touch of honey.

The scent inched closer as their heartbeats quickened.

The warmth radiating from IF's body could now be felt.

As IF stared into Compa's eyes, as she closed the gap between their lips, she spoke softly, as if the words that were to be given to her ears to hear were meant to be heard only for her, and her only.

' _Compa... I love yo_ –'

 _" **WHACK!** "_

The scene that she had made was then shattered apart by a loud noise that sounded reminiscent of skin being hit by hammer.

As she broke out of her daydream with IF in her hands, she saw Eau rolling on the ground, clenching his stomach in pain.

Her grandfather seemed to have punched Eau in the stomach, judging from the fact that he was rubbing his hand against his pants, as if to clean his hands from an unholy deed that he had just done.

"Ignore this idiot. We'll get this over with now, Compa."

Careth deadpanned, his hand held over his face in annoyance.

Compa stared at the girl that she held so lovingly in her hands, and blushed a little as impure thoughts made their way into her mind.

She shook her head. What was happening to her?

Well, there wasn't much she could do about it. She had to deal with the current situation.

She smiled fervently at her grandfather.

"Understood, grandpa!"

* * *

The dark purple wave of damnation faded, and in its wake, left a bloodied Histoire with her tattered clothes on the floor, her book torn at its cover.

The pages of history were still connected at the seams.

Nepgear walked slowly towards Histoire, her dark, corrupted eyes tearing a bit as she did.

The Gehaburn disappeared from her hands with a dark purple spark.

"You're still alive after all that, Histoire? So, answer me this– why did you…?"

Histoire picked herself up from the ground, struggling slowly to get up.

Nepgear bent down to help Histoire, who was still crying in silent agony.

The colors receded.

Nepgear's eyes were back to the usual purple, and the dark purple aura that had materialized around her dissipated.

"I–... Nepgear…"

Histoire struggled to form her words as blood pooled underneath her.

Bending over to pick Histoire up, she carried Histoire and her book in her hands as she walked towards her bedroom.

The blood that Histoire was losing now stained Nepgear's hands.

"Don't talk. I'll have you tell me your reasons later. For now, rest."

Histoire coughed out her words, blood gushing out from the gash on her body. Grasping Nepgear's arm, she forced the words she wanted to say out of her mouth.

"N-Nepgear... W-Why d-did you not kill me…? I t-thought… – **urk** -!"

The red liquid dripped out from her mouth, staining her cheek as it flowed.

"Histoire. I told you not to talk. I'm not letting you die. I'm not letting another die."

"B-But…– **agh!** I-I'm b-beyond s-saving, N-Nepgear… I g-guess, i-it's time t-then…"

Histoire sat up, and grasped upon Nepgear's arm harder. The pages of history turned into a ball of light that formed from Histoire's body. The light filled the dark room, encompassing the room completely.

The light seemed to breathe as slowly as Histoire did.

"T-take this l-last g-gift from m-me, o-okay…?"

The book dissipated as the light grew brighter. Histoire's body seemed to be fading slowly.

"H-Histoire! What are you-?!"

Histoire let out a sad smile, still struggling to form her words. Her body seemed to fade even faster as she continued to struggle out her words.

"I-I'm sorry for a-all I-I've d-done, N-Nepgear… T-take this a-as c-compensation…"

"H-Histoire! D-Don't!"

Nepgear knew what was to come. Histoire was about to pass down all her knowledge to her, at the cost of her life and soul.

"G-Goodbye, N-Nepgear. T-thank you f-for s-showing m-me s-something that I… t-thought t-to be i-impossible…"

" **HISTOIRE!** "

The sad smile that was plastered onto Histoire's face seemed to disappear, as did the rest of her body. The light faded into Nepgear's body to finalize the act.

Histoire's bloodied and ripped clothes were left where her body once was.

"His-Histy… no… **Damn it**!"

Nepgear's mind was in disarray. What was she to do now…? She looked down at her bloodstained hands where the once Oracle's clothes were left.

"I… I'm sorry… as well."

She put the torn, bloody clothes into her inner pocket for safekeeping.

Her purple eyes watered at another loss of hers.

"What do I do now…? What do I– **urk**?!"

Nepgear fell to her knees with the sudden urge to vomit.

Her head ached with pain that seemed to resonate throughout her mind and soul, like church bells at twelve.

Images, scenes, words, numbers; they all formed within her mind's eye.

A certain set of memories stood out the most.

' _Planeptune's weather on_ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ —'

 _A scene between two close friends, a view from a third caretaker:_

' _ **You didn't have to do this, █ █ █ █ -kun… but thank you!'**_

 _A woman and a man, both living in a world far beyond their own._

 _One so exciting, yet so frightening._

' _ **No worries, █ █ █ █ █- chan! It's a gift, after all.'**_

 _The two lived happily together just because they had each other._

 _The people, however…_

 _Looked down upon such a thing._

 _The woman's power was to be feared forever._

 _They rebelled._

 _ **A world of everlasting twilight, the sadness pouring down as rain; a girl who cried at the loss of her dear friend.**_

 _ **Blood, pouring from a gash on a blonde-haired man's chest.**_

' _ **Even if I die… I'll always be with you no matter where you go, █ █ █ █ █-chan**_ –'

 _ **A cough that warned of impending death.**_

' – _ **So, don't cry for me. A face like yours should never have such an expression, after all, so… keep on smiling no matter what happens, okay? Do it for me**_ — _**no. Do it for everyone. Promise me this, okay?'**_

 _ **A small sob that came from the woman that was holding his hand, as the tears fell.**_

 _ **That one tear soon become many, and so she gave her answer.**_

' _ **I-I promise, █ █ █ █ -kun.'**_

 _ **Another cough, from the man who was about to die.**_

 _ **With that promise being made, the man smiled for the last time.**_

' _ **Thank you... █ █ █ █ █-chan.'**_

 _ **The scene then broke apart, as did a woman's heart.**_

Nepgear couldn't seem to hear their names at all, despite replaying the scenes over again and again in her mind. The black stigma that filled the scene covered their faces.

"W-Who are these people…? H-How does Histoire know them…?"

Nepgear knew that this was not the world she knew.

A world long before, a world before Neptune.

A world long before Arfoire.

A world of rejection.

Nepgear struggled to figure things out.

Who were **they**?

Another view, once again from Histoire.

'█ █ █ █ █ _ **-san, in truth, CPUs lived accursed existences. They either live being accepted by their people, or rejected to live never again. By being accepted, you can live forever. By being rejected, you live for naught. You, however**_ — _**Never mind. I understand.'**_

' _ **I know, Histoire. That's why, please help me just for this one last time. So please**_ — '

Nepgear was silent, all this information just led to more questions.

Just who was this girl…?

' _ **Are you sure about this? Even in ten years, even in ten-thousand years… You can't turn back from this decision. Are you sure…?**_ '

' _ **I am. Do it, Histoire.'**_

Nepgear could feel the sadness that reverberated throughout her mind. This was something that Histoire deeply and truly regretted, but despite that, couldn't remember completely.

This was very peculiar. How could you do something like this, and yet have such fragmented memories of such an event?

"Histoire… Just what have you… – **urk!** "

The pain now seemed to be amplified tenfold by her shuffling through all the information that she now had. What was this…?

Another pain burned through her head, like salt on an open wound as more information came scalding through.

With the 'world' giving her information, and yet rejecting said information, she understood why.

After all, the world existed upon constants and variables.

"I-I see… These are memories that shouldn't even exist. J-Just what have you done, Histoire…?"

Nepgear felt nauseous. The information overload was now bearing upon her head like a thousand iron anvils.

She felt the overwhelming urge to close her eyes and rest.

"I g-guess it's finally time for me to sleep, after all this time, h-huh? I thank you for this, H-Histoire…"

She buckled over in her pain, the agony finally taking its toll on her body.

A small smile. She knew that she had to sleep for a while.

"Goodnight, Gamindustri."

She fell to the ground, and what was left of her consciousness faded.


	7. Chapter 7- Past: Accursed

"So, how's the drink, IF?"

Careth sighed, sipping on his already half drained pint of beer slowly, savoring the sour yet bitter taste of the cheap lager that he had ordered.

Both sat on the bar stools side by side, at a tavern in one of the seedier yet quieter districts of Planeptune, much to the chagrin of IF. In a display of mild disapproval, IF poked her own pint of beer at timely intervals. The drink that her foster grandfather had ordered for her stood on the bar table untouched.

The rustic old tavern that both of them sat in was fittingly named 'The Silent Voice", as they were the only ones sitting in the bar. The young, blonde bartender had her hair strung up in twin-tails, and listened to music with some expensive looking earpieces. She read a newspaper with a carefree expression on her face, as if there would never be any customers other than IF and her foster grandfather.

That notion was completely plausible to IF. The twists and turns on the road that both of them had to partake in order to arrive here was utterly insane.

If she had to rate this bar for its location, she would have taken a few points- no, over a thousand points off.

' _This is just bizarre. How did Careth even know that this place existed?'_

With that thought, IF looked at her completely full pint glass.

The liquid in the pint glass held a golden yet transparent sheen, and the foam that festered on the top only convinced her that this was a horrible idea.

"Why did you even take me here…? I've never had alcohol in my life, Careth, and I'm not going to start now."

She asked the golden question that had plagued her mind throughout the minutes that she had spent here.

She honestly had no idea why Careth had brought her here in the first place.

"Well, I believe in a good drink to relieve stress. With all that has happened and how hard you've been working, if you told me that you weren't stressed out at all, you would be undoubtedly be lying."

Careth took another sip of his pale lager, and softly placed the pint glass on the bar table.

' _Ah. So that's why. With the utter disaster that was the Unison Carnival, and all the missions that I've been on after that, it's really been a while since I've gotten a break. Well, it would be rude not to drink now…'_

Taking hold of her glass, she raised it up to her mouth and drank.

She reminisced as she tasted the unfamiliar drink, the repulsive bland taste riveting around her tastebuds and the alcohol burning through her throat as she did.

It had been almost 10 months since she awoke from her magically-induced coma in the hospital, which was only a few days after what was simply dubbed the 'Carnival Catastrophe'.

Apparently, Lowee had instigated the attack over a Planeptunian merchant that had sneaked across the mountainous Loweean border to sell his goods to Lastation.

Either way, it was a massive disaster, and he was caught red handed and mercilessly executed by Lowee. According to the newspapers, he was completely gutted, dismembered, and ultimately crucified to show the world that Lowee was not joking around.

The entire thing completely blew out of proportion due to the current relations between all the nations, especially Planeptune and Lowee.

The CPU of Lowee, White Heart, stated–no, it was more like declared, that since the goods could have only made it out of Planeptune during the Unison Carnival due to the festival's open border policies , they would shut it down forever and ever.

With thunderous words that pounded her Basilicom's walls like a 128 millimeter cannon, White Heart declared:

' _The bloody Unison Carnival is the cause of this, so we'll fucking wipe it out_ _ **forever!**_ '

What was with White Heart and her habit of using profanities in every single sentence anyway? It sounded like she had some anger management issues.

Honestly though, in IF's opinion, that declaration was a complete lie. Planeptune had lax border policies through and through, and IF thought they just wanted an excuse to attack Planeptune.

But that didn't make sense either. Why didn't they just attack Planeptune instead of the Unison Carnival? Sending them all the way to the Powerlevel Island was rather strange.

She thought about it further, mostly about Lady Purple Heart's involvement.

' _The main question… has to be asked to Lady Purple Heart. Was she actually required to be there, at the Unison Carnival, leading her solitary charge against Lowee's forces? Why didn't she just send the Basilicom Special Forces instead…? Well, I think I should just ask Careth then. He always seems to know more than me for some reason.'_

She placed her empty glass on the bar table, wiping her cheek as she did.

But before she could open her mouth to ask her question, the person she wanted to ask the question to had cut her off.

"Woah, Iffy! You're not supposed to drink it that quickly. You're supposed to savor it slowly."

IF shot Careth a dirty look.

"Savoring this is almost impossible, Careth. It's completely tasteless. I have no idea how you can enjoy this at all. Anyways, I've got a question to ask."

She spoke in a deadpan, her tone almost monotonous.

She crossed her arms.

"Well, that's because I ordered you a 'light pilsner' beer, since I thought you might've been unable to handle a stronger one. Glad to know that's not true. I'll order you a _Kulmbacher Eisbock_ next, it's one of my favorites! Anyways, go on. Ask your question."

He waved his hand upwards, signalling her to continue.

"Well, it's something about the Unison Carnival and the massive fiasco that occurred. Was Lady Purple Heart herself even meant to be there…?"

' _Well, there goes the question,'_ IF thought. ' _I hope this will help me understand this further.'_

"She wasn't, actually. According to one of my very trustworthy sources, she went there on a surprise visit… but somehow, Lowee got ahold of that information and sent their forces to kill her and everything at the Unison Carnival- shit. I just let out some confidential information, didn't I?"

Careth sheepishly looked away, knowing that he had just made a big blunder.

"That contradicts with what was told to the public, Careth. That does fill up some holes that I thought of… It was why they sent their forces to the Unison Carnival instead of just attacking Planeptune directly…-but…"

There were too many discrepancies.

Too many non-optimal moves played by all sides of the chessboard named Gamindustri.

"It's a massive waste of manpower, isn't it? Why didn't White Heart just go and fight Lady Purple Heart herself? Some of the things that the goddesses do really don't add up either, do they?"

Careth stared at IF, his wrinkled face turning serious.

"Yes, they really don't. Nothing ever seems to make sense. It honestly feels like they've got some sort of hidden war going on, one that we people have no idea about."

Careth hid a small grin, but it did not go unnoticed by IF.

"What are you smiling at?"

The grin grew wider.

"Nothing. Just thought of something."

The grin slowly turned into a heartfelt smile.

Careth opened his mouth to speak again.

"IF, you're 20 years old now, right?"

The creases on his face seemed to darken.

"Yeah. We celebrated my birthday a month ago, didn't we?"

IF sighed. Time really flew.

She reminisced once more.

How long had it been since they had all first met?

Five? Ten?

At first, she treated Careth and Compa with incredulity, and now…

The times they shared, the daily life that she always enjoyed with them…

They were precious.

They were her family.

Her legal name, after all, was IF Coeur.

She broke out of her thoughts when she heard Careth continue.

"Then it's time, I guess. I need to tell you something."

Careth's disposition turned serious, and a commanding aura that flowed from him suddenly took control of the air.

IF's eyebrow raised. This was something that she hadn't seen nor felt before.

"IF. If I die, take Compa to Leanbox, and keep her safe."

"Wha-"

IF was taken aback.

"What brought this on?! Careth?!"

IF demanded, knowing that the notion of leaving Planeptune for Leanbox was basically spitting on what Careth had passed down to her.

And he was telling her to do so? What was going on?

She decided to find out why. There was no way that Careth would tell her this without a reason.

There was no way that he would suddenly spit on his ideals in such a manner.

Careth sighed, and the commanding aura slowly faded.

"It's just as I said. If I die, take Compa to Leanbox, and keep her safe. Also, make sure to read my will carefully, whenever I do write it."

A sullen look.

"But why Leanbox? Why do we have to leave Planeptune? Are you going against what you believe in? Are you giving up on Lady Purple Heart?"

IF was extremely puzzled. Didn't Careth give her the talk about Lady Purple Heart, a few years ago? So, why…?

"I'm not. But there's something horrible going to happen to Planeptune soon, and despite me not giving up on Lady Purple Heart, you and Compa are in danger just by being in Planeptune. But really, no one says you can't believe in another goddess despite being in another nation, do they? Leanbox is very safe, compared to the other nations."

Careth then took a sip of his beer, knowing the answer that was to come from IF.

"Wait, what? That's blasphemy, isn't it?"

IF was a little confused. When you lived in a nation, you had to believe in the nation's goddess, right?

"That rule only applies to Lowee and Lastation. Both White Heart and Black Heart are dictators, and demand their citizens to believe in only them. Surprisingly, it works. White Heart is a little more of the arrogant military dominator stereotype, and… Black Heart is…-ugh."

IF's eyebrow raised a bit. Why was Careth so hesitant about telling her this?

"Well, what is she like? It can't possibly be that bad, could it?"

Careth sighed, and fingered his pint glass.

"Well... To be frank, she's gone completely off her rocker. She thinks she's the bloody **True Goddess**."

IF gave a deadpan stare.

"Is Black Heart even for real? That's just utter insanity."

The CPUs, according to legend, were just a part of the True Goddess. They were fragments of power that the True Goddess had split from herself in order to keep the world's balance.

The legend went like that or something. IF couldn't really remember the legend very well, however, so she thought that she could be wrong. She noted to herself that she should probably check on the old story sometime soon.

IF considered what Careth had said even further.

Declaring yourself to be the full, complete being whilst being a mere fragment? That was rather insane to IF.

"She is. It's rather frightening that all of her people still follow her, like they're all puppets, and she's the puppetmaster. Her people rejoice even when they're being trampled upon, rejoice when they're being tortured without remorse… It's complete insanity."

Careth finished up his pint of beer, and placed it on the table.

He sat up, pushed the pint glass towards the bartender, the latter taking off her earpieces, throwing the newspaper she held aside, grasping the glass, and placing it into the bar's sink.

"Well, there's that. I'm going off to work, since it's 11 already. Since you're here, why don't you order some drinks for yourself? Although, do make sure to come home and eat dinner, you hear? Don't let Compa worry about you like the last time ever again."

Careth gave IF a reprimanding look as he sat up to leave.

"I- alright. I'll come home later. You go off to work first; I'll go and see what drinks they have to offer. Don't want to make her wrap me in bandages again."

IF felt a shiver caress her spine roughly at the thought of such a thing happening again.

Although being bound by bandages for a day had its perks, including getting spoon-fed like a baby by Compa, she would rather not let that happen again.

As Careth walked off, he made sure to wave back and smile.

IF looked at the slowly shrinking figure in the distance, and sighed.

Trying to comprehend the actions of all the goddesses while she was a human was rather daunting.

To begin with, the very difference between her mortal existence and their divinity made IF feel like an insignificant speck of dust. Whatever game of geopolitics and religion that was being played behind the scenes was being played for decades before IF was born, and could continue for eras afterwards.

All the evidence she had to go off from Careth's vague gesture towards The Great War and the CPU Candidates was coinciding with _when_ the nations started feuding…

Yet, correlation did not mean causation. Even if Purple Heart began to fall behind in a competitive sense without a CPU Candidate, that wouldn't be an issue if the CPUs were all still friends... So why did they begin to fight each other? What really happened?

However much she thought about it, IF couldn't even begin to understand anything.

' _Well, let's just drink a little, shall we? Maybe some alcohol will help me figure this out better.'_

After all, if you came to a tavern, you had to try more than one drink!

She figured that she would at least try out what Careth had recommended.

"Hey, bartender! Could you get me a _Kulmbacher Eisbock,_ please?"

The sweet caramel, grainy bitter taste that the _Eisbock_ had reverberated throughout her taste buds.

* * *

 _ **Worlds are fickle.**_

"Hey, you heard the news?"

 _ **The words of the nameless carried themselves throughout theirs.**_

"What news are you talking about?"

"Apparently, the Deity of Sin killed her mentor, Histoire, a few days ago."

"Are you for real? She's starting her rampage already…?"

"Seems so. If we're not lucky, we'll probably end up dying as well."

 _ **The damned were sure to speak.**_

"Hey, hey! Let's not think about such things."

"But what if? It's very likely. Does anyone still believe in her, anyway?"

"Well, there's the few that were the remnants of ASIC from years ago that support her."

"The cursed supporting the accursed. How fitting."

 _ **The spine of the world.**_

"How scary. What will become of us, the humble workers of the Planeptune District?"

"Don't talk shit. I'm from the Lastation District, so don't fit me in with you lot."

"Haha... just joshing 'ya. You ever miss the old days, where we had eight Goddesses, all fighting for what was right and just?"

"Pfft, wasn't that just 15 years ago? We're not that old. Our 'ol Deity of Sin used to be a kind, nice, and beautiful CPU Candidate back then."

"Now she's fallen from grace, hasn't she? Even though her official title now is Purple Heart, she's still called the Deity of Sin by all of her citizens."

"How did the world come to this…?"

"Beats me. But as it stands now, we're all in trouble. Since there's still technically a CPU presiding over all of us, there's no chance for a resurgence."

"Resurgence?"

 _ **Bend over far enough, and it'll split apart.**_

"You've never heard of it?"

"Yeah, so what is it?"

"It only happens when a CPU that presides over a nation dies, which doesn't really happen often. The entire world has become one nation, so that doesn't work. The resurgence is the creation of a new CPU via the faith of the people."

"How do you even know this? Wait, so that means-"

"Yes, if our current CPU dies, and or loses her CPU status, we'll get a new one, or possibly four new ones again."

"Damn, so is that the target of 'The Uprising'?"

"Yes, it is. That's why so many people support them."

"I've been really left in the dark, haven't I?"

 _ **The spine of the world...**_

"That's just how it is. Well, we simple workers are just cannon fodder to the world, anyway. So in the wide scope of things, our lives don't matter."

"That's just harsh. But it's true…"

"Most of the people in the four nation districts support 'The Uprising'. Since Histoire has perished in the battle against the Deity of Sin, the next leader of the group should be IF."

"Really now. I can't really see her being a leader, since she was a solitary Guild Agent back in the day. Her title was the 'Wind Walker' or something like that, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was. IF was also the one to free the former Purple Sister from the Graveyard all those years ago. Quite the irony, I suppose, but 'The Uprising' is in good hands."

"Well, at least there's that. But I'm still extremely suspicious about 'The Uprising' and their true goals."

"What do you mean…?"

"There's always a selfish reason. No one fights for the people without having something to gain."

"Ah. Well, no one knows. We'll probably never know in our lifetime."

"Alright, there's that. I'll see you tomorrow at work then."

"Yeah, see 'ya."

 _ **It's twisted inside.**_

 _ **Broken, torn.**_

 _ **Dormant.**_

 _ **The world's evils know no bounds.**_

 _ **It is what it is:**_

 _ **The curse of humanity.**_

 _ **The starting penalty, after all...**_

 _ **Is humanity's existence.**_

* * *

"Ugh."

IF laid her head on the bar table, the massive amount of alcohol that she had ingested finally reaching her head.

"I think I drank too much…"

She looked up, noting the fact that the bartender was still staring into her newspaper.

"My head really hurts… I should probably swear off drinking…"

She tried to recall how many drinks she had taken.

After trying out Careth's suggestion, the _Kulmbacher Eisbock_ , she found that it was actually quite drinkable and delightful.

One drink became seven. Seven became… how many again?

It was like playing her favorite games on her phone.

It just kept going on and on.

And the bloody _**micro-transactions**_...

She still regretted purchasing extra gems to customize her character in-game.

Well, she could manage her finances at least, setting aside about a thousand credits for her mobile games, giving about fifty thousand a month for the family, and ten thousand for herself.

At least the beer here was cheap, it was about 25 credits per pint, so it didn't really put a dent in her savings–… wait.

She paused and thought. 25 credits for a pint of _Kulmbacher_? How did this tavern keep running with such a low price? Normally, any sort of beer was about 200 credits per pint. With such great and cheap beer, how was this place not popular?

She pondered the possibilities, when suddenly, she felt a presence enter the room.

"Well, well... What a surprise, I never expected to see someone else in here, with so many empty glasses in front of her."

"-Eh?" IF meekly choked out despite herself. Even though her instincts told her that someone had entered, she was still rather surprised that someone had came into the tavern in the first place. The alcohol in her veins did her reaction times no favors either.

The unfamiliar female voice that was spiked with hints of maturity greeted her.

"Hello there. I'd suppose that the seat next to you isn't taken, is it?"

IF turned to stare blankly at the perpetrator that had interrupted her thoughts.

The one who had greeted her was a silver-haired woman, around the same height as IF herself, who looked rather boyish despite her voice. Her petite frame wore a black suit that was designed rather complexly, with blue and silver highlights, and an azure blue tie. She wore shorts of some sort, and boots that were black with silver and blue highlights, matching her clothes perfectly.

She carried herself like a businesswoman, as far as IF could tell from the look in her blue eyes.

"It's not. Feel free to sit down."

The unidentified woman sat next to IF on the bar stool, fumbling a bit as she did.

"May I have one glass of whatever this girl had?"

The woman asked the bartender, who nodded in return. Her words were voiced in a formal tone that IF had heard a quite a few people using over the years, especially at the Planeptune Mission Station. While she had nothing against those sort of people, she was a little miffed that this woman was acting in such a manner even when there were only three people, including IF, around.

' _Probably to keep up appearances, I suppose.' IF thought._

A glass was placed on the table by the bartender, full of the dark crimson liquid that IF had been accustomed to over her multiple drinks. Staring at it made IF begin to regret her current headache, her lackluster response to the developing situation, and the inevitable hangover.

The bartender then put on her earpieces and started reading the newspaper again.

The woman raised the glass to her face, and took a sip.

A single facial expression formed on her face, one that told IF everything that she needed to know.

A small grin.

"It's pretty good," The woman added with a smile. "I can see how you've drank so much of it."

"Yeah, my grandfather suggested that I try it out, and well, that led to what you see now."

IF smiled a bit, despite the thoughts that were plaguing her mind at that moment.

' _Who is this woman…? I've never ever seen her before, and while she seems like a businesswoman, it's obvious that she came here for something, and it's definitely not a drink or a friendly chat. She doesn't seem like the sort at all.'_

IF pondered some more.

' _And how did she even know about this place? It's a pain to even get here, so there's no way that she wasn't intending to come here.'_

The woman grinned once again.

"Well, as far as I've seen… you've matched up to my expectations almost perfectly, IF Coeur. The 'Wind Walker' of Planeptune, known to some as the heroine of the 'Carnival Catastrophe'."

IF broke out of her thoughts again, the latter part of the sentence catching her attention. It was time to sober up.

"How do you know about that?! Who are you?!"

As far as she knew, it was meant to be kept a secret as per IF's request to the combat medics and all of the witnesses that were present at the carnival, since she didn't really want the attention.

So why did this woman know about it? Did someone run their mouth off?

"Let's just say I have my sources, as do you. Since I know your name, it's only part of standard protocol that I give you mine. My name is Kei. Kei Jinguji."

IF's eyes narrowed at the latter part of her statement, her right arm slowly reaching into her coat to draw her Qatar.

Her muscles tensed.

' _Jinguji. That's not a surname from Planeptune... It's from Lastation! So, is she here to kill me?'_

"Judging from your facial expression, and the fact that you're glaring at me with such tenacity… you know where I'm from, don't you?"

The woman, Kei, it was, grinned back with a certain resolve. IF couldn't tell on what, exactly.

"Jinguji is not a surname from Planeptune. It's from Lastation. So, tell me. Why is a Lastationer here in Planeptune? It can't be for business, since Lastation closed its doors long ago. The walls and patrols keeping them inside have doubled after the 'Carnival Catastrophe'. So, why are you here? If you don't tell me within the next 5 seconds, I will not hesitate to use force."

IF stood up from her seat, and finally drew her azure Qatar, as it shined with a ghostly determination.

"Woah. I'm not here to fight or anything. I'm just here to request something from you. Of course, there will be a reward, if you do complete my request."

Kei stood up and took a step back, still grinning, raising her arms as if she were surrendering.

Still, the atmosphere was like two vipers posing to strike, IF being the one choreographing her moves beforehand.

IF then pointed her Qatar at Kei's throat, radiating with the intent to kill.

"What kind of request? If you're going to ask me to betray Planeptune for money, there's no way in hell that I'm going to. So speak, Lastationer. I will hear your request, and depending on it, I will judge whether you live or die."

' _There, I've threatened her. How will she react?'_

"I swear, taking this job on for Neptune was really a terrible idea." Kei mumbled silently.

"What was that? Who is Neptune?" IF demanded.

Over the years, IF had mastered the art of lip-reading, since it seemed like a very useful thing to learn. She figured that there were going to be times where she couldn't use her ears, and instead had to use her eyes instead.

Who was Neptune anyway? She had heard that name once before...

"You heard that? Wow, your reputation does you no favours at all." Kei grinned that sickening grin once again.

IF inched her Qatar towards Kei's throat slowly as she readied herself for the kill.

"Speak. Who is Neptune?" IF threatened yet again.

"You're extremely, almost frighteningly loyal to Planeptune, and yet you don't know the true name of your Goddess? Well, now you know. Lady Purple Heart's real name is Neptune." Kei grinned once again, her arms still posed in a 'surrender'.

"-Wuh? ' **Lady'** Purple Heart?" IF recoiled back, finally lowering down her Qatar from Kei's throat.

Thoughts and possibilities ran rapidly through IF's mind.

You only said 'Lady' before their official Goddess names if you believed in them.

So why was this Lastation-born woman…?

"Damn, I slipped up. Anyway, it is what it is, I suppose. My loyalties lie with Planeptune, not Lastation."

Kei lowered her arms in response to IF backing off from her.

"Fine, you've proven yourself in a way. I will not ask for your reason for your loyalty with Planeptune. What is the request? I will still decide whether I'll do it or not."

' _And it's rather unlikely that she would answer that sort of question. She'd probably say something like 'that's for me to know, and you to find out'.'_

IF sighed.

Why was today so complicated?

Why did this have to happen on the day IF went drinking?

Kei reached into her suit and grabbed a thin, folded piece of paper to hand to IF.

IF grasped the paper in her right hand, and unfolded it.

As IF read the contents that were written in stunningly neat handwriting that made her somewhat jealous, more questions just kept popping up in her mind.

"Send a bunch of food supplies to a house in the northern outskirts of Planeptune? Why?" IF pondered on what it could be.

' _The northern outskirts of Planeptune…'_

What was special about the northern outskirts…?

Was there anything?

Any sort of stronghold, story, anything like that?

IF racked her brain wildly.

Was there anything at all?-

With that, a sudden thought flashed through her mind.

' _Wait a second... Wasn't there some sort of urban legend?'_

According to her sources from some time ago, the northern outskirts of Planeptune had a small urban legend: in those forests lived an eternally young girl who made plush dolls to sell to Planeptune. Those plush dolls were extremely popular since they were made exceptionally well with incredible amounts of detail, had oddly exceptional durability, and allegedly, magic could be channelled through them… somehow.

IF thought that the legend was a bunch of hogwash, but this request was just too coincidental.

The plush dolls would appear in a certain store in the general district every month, and IF had seen some of them, but they were always sold out quickly. IF had even considered buying one for Compa since she liked those cute sorts of things, but what could arguably be Planeptune's finest artisanal products had a price tag to match that very fact.

Yet strangely enough, IF swore that long ago in the shelter that some of the other orphaned children had those sorts of dolls, even though the shelter was nowhere near being able to afford those sorts of things...

The name that was coined for the aforementioned dollmaker was apparently, the 'Eternal Dollmaker'.

The request was a little weird from a bystander's standpoint, but it seemed fairly normal for a request for IF.

She had seen a lot of peculiar things over the years, and this wasn't too out of the ordinary.

The 'Eternal Dollmaker' was just an urban legend, anyway. It was probably a title given to multiple generations of doll makers, and the urban legend was just made to make it more 'mysterious', drawing in more customers.

Though IF's gut gave her an uneasy feeling. She was usually quick to dismiss these silly tales, so why...?

IF's thoughts were interrupted by Kei, whose patience for even the mildly inebriated IF had run out.

"It's for a business contact of mine. I'll be needing to go back to Lastation to help Neptune spy on their Basilicom and other things soon, since my extended vacation is ending. So, I needed to hire someone trustworthy in order to do this job for me. Neptune has taken an interest in you, so, you can guess."

"Lady Neptune has taken an interest in me? Why?" IF was rather confused by the revelation.

"No idea. I was a little confused as well, since she's usually a shut-in, doing work all day in the Basilicom. To be honest, my first impression of you was horrible too when I entered here."

Kei sighed.

"The first question that popped into my mind when I walked in here was 'Why is Neptune interested in a 20 year old drunkard?'. And, well, you've shattered that impression with your actions afterwards. I've been exceedingly impressed so far. I'm glad to see that Neptune still has people like you supporting her."

IF nodded in acknowledgement.

"Well, you can thank my grandfather for that. And Kei, was it? I accept the request."

"Alright, it's settled. You can pick up the reward from the Basilicom when you're done. The food supplies should be sent to your home in a day or two. Thank you, IF. You have my gratitude."

"No worries. I'll make sure to get it done."

Kei smiled in return, and turned to leave.

"Wait."

Kei turned back.

"What is it?"

"Is there any way to contact you or something?"

"Asking a woman for her phone number on the first meeting… never thought you were that bold, IF." Kei fingered her lip and smiled, almost mockingly.

"Not in that way. I already have someone else I'm interested in. It's for business, as you seem to so love." IF haughtily replied.

Kei smiled, a genuine one, it seemed, in response.

"Then no. I can't really be contacted, since I'm undercover in Lastation, after all."

"I see. That's a shame. Then get going. I'll make sure to complete the request."

Kei nodded, and left the tavern.

Once again, IF stared at the figure that seemed to grow smaller as time passed.

"Well, that was interesting. I don't think I could've killed her, anyway. She's not just a businesswoman. She couldn't be."

Despite looking like nothing but a businesswoman, IF knew. The way that Kei reacted, so full of herself, whilst not having a weapon to draw, it was obvious that she was not just all talk. IF could see the way that Kei's muscles tensed, and how her feet moved smoothly without any unnecessary movements or noise.

Her other 'sense', one that she had trained since she was a child, also told her that Kei was not merely a businesswoman that she pretended to be.

She was trained in some manner. Probably as an assassin, of sorts.

' _But, however…'_

There was something peculiar about Kei's actions.

Why had she come to confront IF alone like that?

Why had she endangered herself, by putting herself out in the open like that?

IF was still confused with the current turn of events.

IF felt that, with all her focus on Kei, her dulled senses had missed something or someone watching them...

Well, there was no holding back anymore. This day just seemed to keep getting worse, and with the splitting headache that she had throughout her 'conversation' with Kei, she knew.

She was also starting to lose a bit of her composure, what with all the drinks that she had consumed earlier.

But somehow, just in some way, she was proud of herself for being able to hold on for that long with all that alcohol in her system.

IF stared at the bartender, who was still staring blankly at the newspaper, seemingly unaware of what had just happened between Kei and IF.

IF sat back on her stool.

As she sat down, she came to a horrifying realization:

' _Wait, did she-'_

The pint of _Kulmbacher Eisbock_ that Kei had took a sip from was still on the bar table, unfinished.

IF stared at the glass with indignation and a twitching eyebrow.

She sighed. This was clearly a test of her will.

"Hey, bartender. Can I get a mug of water?"

The blonde bartender then took Kei's drink for herself, and passed IF a mug of water.

As IF sipped on the refreshing water, she thought to herself about all the inconsistencies of the day.

Careth had brought here, through the twisting alleyways. IF could initially chalk this up to something in her old man's past, or perhaps, as just a small quirk, he had this as his favorite bar.

A bar whose beer was simply too cheap.

This, IF could not understand. Planeptune was too poor to subsidize one of its random bars in some back alley, so something definitely was wrong.

If anything, the bad location should have meant that higher prices would be mandatory in order to stay in the black. Clearly, this was not some random bar, nor did it care about turning a profit.

Then, IF thought, who owned this bar, and who exactly was the bartender?

IF pondered further, specifically on Kei's actions and what she had said.

Kei had revealed rather freely that she was a spy for Lady Neptune. She had approached IF in the open, unafraid of her threats. She also had revealed classified information that would put her own life in danger.

If there were any Lastation spies in the vicinity, they would have attempted to kill Kei right then and there. Thankfully, the only people here were IF, Kei, and that bartender, who seemed to be ignoring the situation.

Yet, given how secluded and remote from the road that this tavern was, there was no way that Kei, Careth, and the bartender didn't know each other in some sort of fashion.

IF would have to ask Careth some serious questions about all of this when he got back from work.

Careth definitely knew things that he wasn't letting on. If he expected IF to honor his will, Careth had better start telling IF rather than hiding from IF.

Finally, there was IF's own uneasy feeling about the 'Eternal Dollmaker'.

There was a hazy memory, a memory that lingered in her mind from the short period after her parents died, some time before she had met Deco.

Those were the times when she had wandered the streets homeless, begging from door to door for food. Sometimes she ate; sometimes she didn't. Yet in the midst of all of that, there was something she was forgetting. Something… or someone…

After finishing her mug of water, IF began to feel incredibly sleepy. That water wasn't spiked… right?

"Damn, I need… to get home…"

IF muttered as slumped in her bar stool, before promptly passing out.

* * *

 **A repressed memory.**

She sat under a bridge. Scraps she had saved some resident from throwing into the trash served as her only meal of the day. It was a late lunch or an early dinner.

IF couldn't tell which.

 **The grey sky began to drizzle.**

All that was on her mind that day was how she hadn't eaten in two days. She couldn't wait to dig into the slightly damp and mushy loaf of bread she was given.

 **A girl with bluish purple bed hair took shelter beneath the bridge.**

IF turned her head towards the stranger, and away from her precious loaf that she had yet to bite into.

The girl looked only 2 or 3 years older than IF, but what quickly caught IF's attention was the girl's extremely tired and famished appearance.

The bed haired girl finally glanced up through her hair and noticed IF.

"C-Can I stay here for the night?" She weakly asked IF.

IF quickly nodded in approval. IF had been kicked off park benches and out of other places enough times to know the pain of not having somewhere dry to sleep.

The mysterious girl sat a few feet away from IF.

Staring at her bread loaf, IF knew that both of them were hungry.

"Are you hungry, Onee-chan?"

As fellow hungry, homeless children, IF thought it was only fitting to call the mysterious girl her older sister. Even if they were not sisters in blood, they were sisters in their shared miserable fate.

Before the girl could respond, IF gently ripped the soft loaf into two halves, and extended one half to the girl.

The girl nodded, moved to sit next to IF, and the two ate their shared meal in silence.

When their meal was over, IF spoke up.

"I'm IF! What's your name, Onee-chan?"

"I'm… █ █ █ ."

"Nice to meet you!" Despite the terrible circumstances, the meal revitalized child IF.

"Nice to meet you too." 'Onee-chan' replied in a slow, somewhat melancholy fashion.

After a brief moment of silence, she asked IF a question out of the blue.

"Hey, IF... Mind if I call you Iffy?"

"No problem! Then I'll call you Onee-chan!"

Once again, there was another moment of silence.

After a while, the girl asked a peculiar question.

"Hey, Iffy… Do you have any dreams?"

'Onee-chan' sadly smiled as she asked.

"I want to help other people. I know that Lady Purple Heart is out there helping people everyday, so I want to help people, too. Someday, I'm sure, she'll even help me."

IF then turned to look the despondent 'Onee-chan' in the eye.

"I mean, she already sent me a lovely Onee-chan today! I'm no longer alone now!"

'Onee-chan' perked up, but then returned to an even sadder state.

"You don't want me. I'm cursed." 'Onee-chan' replied while thinking to herself,

' _And I'm over 70 years old, but I'm being fed by the generosity of a 5 year old. How low have I sunk?'_

"I don't get what you mean, but Onee-chan is Onee-chan." IF stared quizzically at the bed haired girl, before giving her a hug.

She hugged IF back, before tears began flowing uncontrollably down her face.

"I'm sorry Iffy. If I stay with you, you'll be shunned too."

"Why? Why is Onee-chan disliked?"

IF, at the time, didn't really know what 'shunned' had meant. However, with the current situation and with what was going around her, she supposed that it meant to be disliked, as some did dislike her from what she could tell, since all she really did was ask for food.

"People hate Onee-chan because Onee-chan is cursed. There's nothing we can do about it, Iffy."

IF looked up to her with a sad understanding.

"The sun is setting, Iffy. We should sleep."

"Yeah. Let's sleep together, Onee-chan!"

Her 'Onee-chan' seemed somewhat shocked at that statement, but a smile soon warmed up her face.

"Alright, Iffy. Let's sleep together."

Soon, the two were close together, and IF slept on her 'Onee-chan's' lap, the latter hugging her to sleep.

IF rested her head in the soft and warm dress of her 'Onee-chan', before falling asleep in her embrace.

The two were both left with smiles in their sleep.

* * *

The next morning, 'Onee-chan' decided to part ways with IF.

"I know someone who will take care of you, Iffy."

"Why can't she take care of Onee-chan too?"

"She can only afford to take in one of us. Please, IF, when I leave, go to that address. Deco will raise you well."

IF stared at the paper, and read its contents. She knew exactly where that address was, and the kind old lady from that address had fed her many times before.

IF realized that she had become scared to ask to be adopted by a stranger. However, her experience with 'Onee-chan' made IF willing to trust a stranger.

' _If you never get to know them, then they'll never stop being strangers!'_ IF thought to herself.

So if 'Onee-chan' thought it was worth asking to get adopted by this 'Deco', IF would at least give it a shot.

"Okay, Onee-chan, but let me ask you something."

"Hm? What do you want to ask, Iffy?"

"Do you have any dreams?"

She put a finger to her lip, as if wondering how to answer the question.

She then replied earnestly.

"When I was younger, I dreamt of becoming a dollmaker, but I couldn't because of my curse," She paused, before a grin spread throughout her face:

"But after listening to you, I want to help people, and make them happy with the dolls I make!"

"Like I thought, Onee-chan is a good person!" IF declared in delight as she hugged 'Onee-chan' for the last time.

IF smiled earnestly as she parted from the hug.

"Promise me that someday, we'll meet again, Onee-chan!"

"We will, Iffy. When I find a place for myself, I will come visit you at Deco's house, and I'll bring you the first doll that I make!"

"Alright, it's a promise! Don't you ever dare forget it, Onee-chan!"

"I won't. Don't you dare ever forget it either, Iffy!"

The two shook hands in agreement of their promise before they parted ways.

* * *

IF woke up in a pool of her own drool on the bar table.

"Damn it, what in the name of Lady Purple Heart's pudding was her name!?"

The dollmaker. She remembered her one night friend and fellow homeless and hungry child. The person that pointed her to Deco. The person that had probably saved IF's life in doing so. That's why this urban legend didn't sit well with IF. Dollmaking was a very rare artisanal skill, as most plushies were simply factory made nowadays.

With that in mind, being a dollmaker was a very rare profession.

IF had forgotten about the promise after Deco passed away and IF lost the right to live in that house. Yet, now IF remembered.

IF never bothered asking what the curse was, because she was a small child back then. What if it was… eternal youth? If anyone besides the CPU was eternally young, they would have been shunned.

"Gah, this is too damn confusing." IF shook her head, and wiped her drool from her face with her coat.

IF checked the time on her pink flip phone. 7pm.

 _Time to head home, it seems._

* * *

A door slammed open.

A tome floated in.

"Neptune. I've got bad news. Really bad news. I really don't want to say it, but…"

Neptune looked up from her paper-filled desk, the dark rings that faded over her eyes contrasting the 'happy' look on her face.

"It's alright, Histoire. Go on. What could make my day worse?"

Histoire grimaced.

"We've fallen behind all of the nations in terms of share rate. We're currently at 9 percent, to be exact."

A CPU stood up, her tired eyes widening.

"Wait, w-what?! B-But the last time I checked, we were at fifteen percent shares!"

"Neptune... when was the last time you checked our share rate? You've been the one in charge for keeping track of our statistics for about three years now."

Neptune seemed to panic over the question, till a look of realization took ahold of her face.

"U-Uh... a month ago."

Histoire sighed.

"Neptune. I know you've been busy with all the paperwork, but keeping track of the statistics for our exported items, imported items and most importantly, our share rate and followership is what allows us to plan ahead… Checking it every week is the most optimal for us."

Neptune looked down sadly, and clasped her hands together.

"I-I'm sorry, H-Histoire. I'll try harder. I'll make sure to check it every week."

Histoire floated towards Neptune, putting her hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

"It's alright, Neptune. I know you've been trying your absolute best. It should be me who should be trying harder. So, I'll take over from now onwards."

Neptune gave a look of anguish and desperation.

"No, Histoire… I'll do it! I'm the CPU of this nation, after all. I've got to do everything the best I can, and I know that I'm not doing my best! Otherwise, everything would be perfect! Everything would be-"

Histoire sighed once again.

" **NEPTUNE!"**

Histoire shook Neptune wildly, trying to get Neptune back to the point.

"Y-Yes?! Histoire?!"

A dazed expression.

"Calm down! This isn't your fault. It's mine, for having been too complacent."

"B-But…"

"You've been taking the blame for everything since **that** , Neptune. What happened to you…?"

"W-What do you mean, H-Histoire? I'm not-"

"Neptune. Don't."

Utter silence beheld the room.

"..."

Histoire gave a sad smile.

"Neptune… please. Don't overwork yourself, okay?"

Histoire knew that her words would be for naught, but however...

"...I understand, Histoire."

This was good enough for the both of them.


	8. Chapter 8- Past: Reunion

"I regret all of the decisions that I made yesterday."

IF sighed, as she rubbed her head in annoyance while she sat on the living room couch.

The massive amount of alcohol that she ingested yesterday now decided to take its harsh toll upon her mind in the form of a hangover.

"I read the bill. Bloody hell, how did you even manage to get yourself home when you had 10 pints of Eisbock? I can barely manage 5 or 6 before passing out." Careth's confused voice emanated from the kitchen and echoed throughout the living room.

"No idea… I've got a job to do today, and this hangover isn't helping me in any way."

Careth walked out of the kitchen into the living room with a pair of mugs, one in each of his hands. He motioned one towards IF.

"Well, here's some warm milk to start off your day. When I have a hangover, I grab some warm milk and gulp it down. It makes the headache a bit more bearable. Here you go!"

Careth passed the mug full of warm milk to IF with a smile, the latter muttering a small thanks in appreciation.

IF grasped the mug in her hand, the heat from the cup warming her hands.

She lifted the cup and took a big gulp.

Despite being unable to taste the warm liquid flowing down her throat properly due to her headache, she still felt a little better having something in her stomach.

She gasped when she was done.

"Ah! Thanks, Careth. I feel a little better now."

Careth grinned in return.

"No problem. I hope this doesn't become a habit of yours though."

IF gave Careth a deadpan stare.

"I'm swearing off drinking. No need to worry about it."

Careth gave a sigh of relief.

"Hah. Well, Compa's going to be very happy about that."

IF gave Careth a look of questioning.

"How so?"

Careth grinned yet again.

"Iffy. If you didn't realize it, you reek of alcohol right now despite having taken a bath. How do you think you smelt to us yesterday while we were eating dinner together?

IF grimaced as she smelt her coat, her face scrunching up in disgust when she took a whiff of the thick scent of alcohol that lingered.

Well, despite that, the dinner that had been made by Compa was delicious as usual.

She did notice Compa giving her some… _peculiar_ stares while they were eating.

They weren't the usual looks of utter joy and happiness, and she didn't give IF _that smile_ which always seemed to melt IF's heart.

That made IF somewhat sad, but what could she do?

She sighed in resignation.

"...I have nothing to say in my defence."

"And there you have your answer. Well, I've gotta go, since it's already 11. Make sure to come home at 7, alright?"

IF shook her head.

"I'll try my best, but I have travel pretty far for today's job. It's all the way in the north of Planeptune, in the forests near the LAN Castle. It should take me about 3 to 5 hours in total depending on what happens. My destination is pretty far from the Planeptune-Lowee border, so it's pretty safe. Well, it doesn't really matter. I'll give you two a call if I can't make it."

Careth picked up his sling bag from the coffee table, and turned back at IF.

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Stay safe, alright?"

IF nodded with a smile in affirmation, waving goodbye as Careth walked to the door.

Careth returned the smile with another, and waved goodbye in return, and left the house, the front door closing without the sound that entailed a locked door.

That was rather strange. Careth usually locked the door behind him.

' _Well, it's probably nothing.'_

IF sighed yet again, palming her face.

She took her hand off and stared at her packed black sling bag which held the food supplies that she needed to deliver.

She blinked once, and shook her head in silence.

It was best not to waste any more time, especially if she wanted to get back in time for dinner.

There wasn't much time to spare.

"Well, this job is going to be very interesting, to say the least."

She gave a heartfelt smile to nothingness.

"I hope I can meet _her_ again."

* * *

Nepgear sighed as she sat in a meditative pose on top of a large piece of paper. Upon it was a magic circle made out of intricate lines and many other exotic curvatures. Nepgear's face scrunched up in her concentration and pain.

Her head ached, with the 'History of Gamindustri' slowly seeping into her memories and mind.

This was really proving to be daunting.

A few months ago, Histoire had given Nepgear her soul that now lived inside of her, and some of her abilities as the incarnation of 'History'.

Nepgear understood what those actions had meant.

Histoire trusted Nepgear with her life and powers in those final moments, despite what Nepgear had become.

Nepgear was happy for that, but despite it all...

Histoire could not live properly inside of her.

It was sad, to be honest.

Histoire was not meant to live alongside another soul, in a living body that could not hold such an astounding amount of information and magical energy, and especially in a body like Nepgear's.

Nepgear's body and soul both were tainted, corrupted by her 'nature' as the Deity of Sin, so Histoire's soul was slowly becoming weaker and weaker.

Thankfully, due to Histoire's astounding power that Nepgear could still feel fighting back against Nepgear's 'nature' even now, Histoire could last for decades, centuries even.

But this led to another question.

With this amount of power, how did Nepgear not fall against Histoire in their battle?

Why hadn't Histoire utterly annihilated her?

She didn't understand it at all.

So, with this revelation, what could Nepgear do?

What could she do to give Histoire a new lease of life, so that she could live on in some manner?

She needed some sort of inanimate object, one that could hold an incomprehensible amount of magical energy, and had Share Energy within it.

And the only thing that she knew had something like that, was… well…

The Gehaburn.

The sword that held the power of all of the other CPUs, in the form of Share Energy.

Despite the sword's 'nature', it worked perfectly.

The sword already held an incredible amount of power from the CPUs within it, and Nepgear knew that it could hold even more than that.

From the purification attempts going on within her, Nepgear was sure that Histoire's soul and other CPUs' powers in the sword could 'cleanse' the sword of all its negative properties.

She knew that the drain from Histoire being within Nepgear was already putting a lot of stress upon both of them, and so she needed to act quick.

Knowing this, she pondered the possibilities over the months, leading to her decision to start her 'operation'.

She had done quite a lot of reading upon a certain subject, one that Histoire had told her about so long ago when she was still learning the basics of magic.

She drew a soul-transferral magic circle with modifications that she had made in order for the 'operation' to complete without a hitch.

Though it was a little risky, it was worth it to get at least some of, if not all of Histoire back.

She reminisced in silence.

" _Nepgear, there's a lot more to magic other than the basic destruction spells, barrier spells, enhancement spells, healing spells and so on. There are certain types of spells that go even further than the material world, ones that are forbidden for normal people to use. These spells work upon the spirit, in how they are cast and how they work. Some examples of what such spells can do are severing the connection between a person's soul and body, and even transferring them from one body to another. But they take a lot of preparation to carry out, so you never really see them being applied in battle. This forbidden branch of magic are known as 'Ethos Spells'."_

" _I see, Histoire! Well, I want to protect my sister and everyone, so those won't be needed! I want to learn how to protect first."_

" _Well, if that's your choice… I'll teach you some barrier spells, okay?"_

" _Alright, Histoire! Let's begin!"_

She stopped and frowned.

Why was she thinking about the past?

Just thinking about it…

Made her sad inside.

Well, that talk was what had made her come up with a certain spell, one that she had kept a secret from everyone for a very long time.

'Magic Cancellation', she called it. It was what she had used against Histoire in their battle.

It severed the connection between the user casting a spell, and the magic circle itself.

If she was feeling particularly evil, she could even take control of the magic circle and redirect it at the user, but that required her to know the spell that was being used against her inside out.

How it worked was that Nepgear would send a bolt of controlled disruptive-type magical energy towards the magic circle, and gain control of the spell circle. She could then either destroy the circle via her own volition, or use it against her enemy if she knew what the spell was. Thankfully, people just seemed to like to announce their spells before they casted, so it made it extremely easy.

If they didn't, however, Nepgear would study the magic circle before it fired its spell at her, and if the person used the spell again, she could cancel it.

It also did not have a magic circle, so that was a plus.

However, the main problem with it was that despite being extremely quick, did not work on spells that did not have a magic circle. These 'flash-casted' spells were casted without a magic circle, which drastically improved the speed that the spells could be casted, at the cost of their power.

Nevertheless, this nullification was a very powerful 'spell' to have in her arsenal, and she would probably never teach it to anyone else.

If you had basic knowledge of the concept of Ethos Spells and were gifted in normal spellcasting, it would be extremely easy to learn. But she didn't think anyone else out there had that sort of information at their fingertips, or if she might add, on a person.

She sighed.

She couldn't think about that now. She needed all her concentration to complete this.

Her 'operation' began today.

* * *

"This forest is really getting on my nerves..."

IF was, without a doubt, miffed.

She had been trekking through the forest for about 3 hours now, and yet she couldn't find the wooden cottage that Kei had directed her towards.

The map that had been given to her by Kei also told her she should have arrived by now.

And yet…

She felt like she had seen this certain plot of trees over and over again.

Honestly, it felt like she was going in circles.

She studied her surroundings.

A sea of trees were all she could see.

Not too short, not too tall.

But it just felt so familiar.

Trees, trees, and more trees.

It was just tiresome to look at.

"Well, let's try climbing a tree in order to get a vantage point to look for landmarks. Then, I can plot a route from there—what?"

She stopped herself, sensing something.

The wind rumbled.

Magic energy saturated the air.

A gust of wind.

"Wha–"

Multiple shots of pink energy were fired at her.

IF, being startled, started to activate her barrier spell.

But before she could, the energy surrounded her.

Pink energy swirled around her.

"What the–? What's going on?!"

The energy faded.

IF turned and looked around, panicking a little as she did.

She was now standing in a clearing in the forest, and the path that lay in front of her:

"The cottage?!" IF reeled back in shock.

Earlier, there was nothing but trees.

Now, there was a wooden cottage that had appeared out of nowhere in front of her. The sea of trees that IF had wandered now lay behind her, as she stood in the clearing.

The cottage was rather simple, other than the windows that had the blinds covering them, and the wooden walls around seemed to be plain as the trees that lived here.

Glancing back at the everlasting sea of trees, IF reached into her coat and unfolded the map that Kei had given her to check where she was.

She studied the markings on the parchment.

Apparently, there was only one clearing in the forest, and that was exactly where she was.

The heart of the forest, it was called.

Everything else around it was just trees.

The only other noteworthy things were LAN Castle, which creeped IF out, and the Lowee-Planeptune border, which was pretty far away.

She folded the map and placed it back into her bag.

It was now or never, she supposed.

Was this house going to be the house of the 'Eternal Dollmaker'?

Was the 'Eternal Dollmaker' the girl that she had met all those years ago?

She pondered her questions in silence, before shrugging.

' _No matter, I'll have my questions answered.'_

The cottage drew closer as she walked.

The door now was before her.

It had a cute-looking bunny plushie hung up on it, and the style that it was made in just felt… familiar.

This was the moment of truth.

It was now or never, after all.

IF sighed, and knocked once on the door, not too hard, nor too soft.

"Pleaaaaseeee waaaaaiiiitt a moment! I'm coooominnngg!"

A muffled girl's voice was heard from behind the door, and as far as IF could tell:

' _It's the same voice from before…! So she really is...'_

The muffled sound of pitter-pattering on a floor from running quickly drew closer to the door.

It stopped.

A creak.

The door opened slowly, and with it, out came a young-looking girl with unnatural magenta eyes and light purple hair tied up in a single braid with a ribbon.

She wore clothing that IF could only describe as 'sleepwear'.

But what was most important was that, after all...

It was the girl that IF had met under the bridge all those years ago.

The girl stared at IF for a second, before bending a little to the side, smiling gracefully and clapping her hands together.

"Hello! My name is Plutia. What's your name?"

It really was her. She looked the same, sounded the same, even.

Even after 15 years.

So she actually was immortal.

Her name was Plutia, apparently. So that was the name she had forgotten.

But did Plutia remember her?

She opened her mouth to speak.

Before she could reply, however, Plutia had cut her off with a small tease.

"Hee-hee! I already know who you are, Iffy! Come in and have some sweets! We have lots to catch up on."

So she did remember, after all these years.

IF felt a peculiar feeling, one that she hadn't felt before.

How could she describe it?

It wasn't the affection that she felt for Compa.

It wasn't the parental adoration that she felt for Careth.

It somehow… made her heart feel warm.

This feeling just made her feel happy inside.

They were two friends, finally meeting again after 15 years.

IF rubbed her head in embarrassment, and teased back with a hand on her hip and a smile.

"We really do… 'Onee-chan'."

A shared smile.

* * *

Careth walked slowly into the darkened alleyway with a faraway look in his eyes, knowing that he was damning himself with every little step he took.

The sound of shoes striking the pavement echoed throughout the alley, in an almost hypnotic, rhythmic fashion of a old-fashioned clock.

' **Tick, tock. Tick, tock.'**

' _Tick… tock.'_

He finally stopped, and glanced at what was in front of him.

A plain, unassuming wooden door with zero decorations.

'Plick, plock.'

He knocked twice, the first embodying the gracefulness of a lily bud in spring, and the second embodying the harsh, wilting heat of summer.

As he awaited for the person he knew would answer, he doubted himself.

Was this actually a good idea?

 _No._

Was giving up everything he wanted worth it?

 _No._

Was returning to the darkness ever going to give all that it took away back to him?

 _No._

But for the sake of IF and Compa, did he have a choice?

Then, he briefly smiled a stark and desperate grin, knowing that he had his answer.

' _Creak…'_

The door finally opened with a soft creak that he wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been trained to listen for everything.

The young, blonde bartender who had served both IF and Careth yesterday answered the door, clad in the same clothing that she wore the day previous.

"So you've made your decision, huh, Careth? Is this really what you want?"

The bartender questioned, a sad look taking ahold of her face.

"Can I come in first?"

The bartender nodded, and stepped aside to walk behind the bar table that sat in the middle of the room, and Careth followed, sitting on the bar stool on the opposite side.

The tavern looked the same as yesterday, so Careth took no care in looking at the decor.

For a few minutes, Careth simply sat in silence with a serious and downtrodden aura surrounding him. He waited until the bartender finally spoke up again.

"Although I'm sure that Kei will be more than satisfied by your return to service, I just can't understand why someone who's seen combat dating back to the Great War would want to come out of retirement. I'll ask again: Is this **really** what you want?"

The bartender poured out a glass of orange juice for herself, and a glass of Careth's favorite beer and placed them on the bar table.

"Before I answer that, tell me: What kind of nonsense do they tell you about me in the Special Forces nowadays?" Careth spoke softly yet cynically.

"You have a 100% mission clear record, with zero deaths on the squads that you were assigned to. You're the best combat medic now and then. You are on par with a hero of legend among us newer operatives."

Careth took out a charred dog tag, and silently placed it on the table.

"What's this?"

The girl stared quizzically at the blackened bit of metal.

"My comrade's dog tag. Friend from my village. Died in The Great Outredimension War. Right next to me."

Raising his head, Careth looked the bartender in the eye.

"I promised to take care of his family when the war was over. My hometown was scorched to the ground. His family was killed. This was the first time I failed."

Careth stowed the dog tag away.

"My son and daughter-in-law were amazing together. The kind of medical achievements they reached made me proud even up till today. I'm sure that you've heard 'legends' about them, too."

Taking a small sip of beer, Careth continued.

"Yet, without ever telling me, you enrolled them into military programs for closer integration with the government. Before I could even find out what you had done, it got them targeted and killed by Lastation's Special Forces. Alas, thus became the second time I failed."

The girl grimaced.

"Despite your 'shortcomings', having such a record like yours is amazing. I can't name other squads other than mine that have such a record, after all. Your skills are highly sought after, anyway."

Careth's ears twitched upon hearing a certain part of the girl's statement.

"Your squad? You mean the Gold Third?"

"Yeah, the Gold Third. We consist of S, K, C and myself, B. C's the leader, K is our 'assassin', S is our swordswoman and I'm their firepower."

Careth took his hand off his face and smiled.

"Is that so. Suits you, I suppose."

A brief moment of silence.

The girl sighed, and spoke aloud:

"I wished your decision to return suited you."

Careth frowned, and stood up.

"My father died for this country. It was not his birthplace, but he stood for the flag and died for it."

He made a fist with his left hand.

"My son and daughter-in-law died for this country. You did not warn them fairly and prevented me from doing so, thus they perished in vain, unable to see Compa grow into the wonderful woman she is now."

He made a fist with his right hand.

"My hometown was burnt to the ground, into nothing but ashes during the war. They gave it their all, even to their final breath, and yet you never rebuilt it. I alone buried their charred remains, and built a memorial for them."

Careth took in a deep breath and unclenched his fists.

"You take my father. You take my son. You take my home. You take everything that is legitimately mine. Fine. Yet, even after all that, you were not content."

Careth gazed at the bartender.

"You probably didn't know, but IF's parents were Special Force operatives. Since IF was born at home, and not in a hospital, she never got a birth certificate. That's why she was orphaned on the streets. She's worse off than a bastard in the eyes of the state."

Careth looked away from the girl, and focused on the bar's staff door behind her.

"To you, she was just some brat that somehow found her way into those operatives' home. You evicted her, left her homeless on the streets, and refused to take care of her. For years, she lived on the kindness of a stranger. When she was in dire need of your help, you were nowhere to be seen."

Careth took a brief pause.

"Essentially, you were content to let her starve to death on the streets."

As if waiting for the door to reply, Careth waited once again for a moment, before resuming when it stood silent.

"When Deco died, you denied her not just her birthright from her blood parents, but also from her adopted family. Yet when you see what kind of beautiful person she's become on her own, you rush to try and steal her life away. Delighted, as if you had discovered a few lost coins under a sofa cushion."

Careth had been the one convince IF to turn away from turning her past suffering into hatred. Yet, from the moment Careth stepped inside the bar, he felt a presence behind the bar. One that refused to acknowledge IF's pain.

IF's grievances had to be heard, so Careth would press the issue on her behalf.

"You've treated IF worse than utter garbage. She deserves better than this life: a life in the shadows, and a lifetime devoted to nothing but war. She deserves the live out her hope-filled days pursuing the bright future ahead."

He extended his arm and pointed straight at the door.

"A life better than you can ever give her."

The door creaked under the aura of contempt Careth directed at it.

"Not satisfied with running my entire immediate family into ruin, you want the lives of IF and Compa. You want to grind both of them into the dust. You want to nab the rest of IF's life for this existence of murder and death. **I won't let you.** "

Careth lowered his pointing finger, but still stood firmly.

"If you want someone's life to be devoted to this insufferable war between the four nations, then it shall be my lifetime—Not IF's."

Careth took a seat. With those words that he spoke with anguished decisiveness, he could finally lay IF's pained past to rest.

"You can run away to Leanbox with IF and Compa and live peacefully for the rest of your lives. So, for curiosity's sake, tell me: Why are you doing this?" The bartender finally spoke up.

Careth smirked, albeit sadly.

"I was raised and fought as a Planeptunian, and I will die with my faith in Lady Purple Heart. Compa and IF are much less zealous about Neptune. Converting their beliefs from Lady Purple Heart to Green Heart will not be painful for them. I'm an old dog who can't change his ways, after all."

Careth took a big gulp of the still mostly full mug of beer.

"Plus, if this guarantees you will never harass IF and Compa ever again, it is worth what's left of my pitiful life."

He stood up and walked to the staff door.

"I am an old man, after all. My time will come soon enough. The least I can do is save IF and Compa from your clutches, Kei."

Careth sighed in sadness.

"Kei. I know that you're there."

The door finally creaked open, as Kei, with an amused yet satisfied grin, stepped out.

* * *

"Here, have some tea and sweets, Iffy!"

Plutia passed a mug of tea to IF with a charming smile, and placed a plate of chocolate-filled cookies on the table for the both of them.

Both of them sat on pink couches facing each other that felt like the comfiest thing IF had ever sat on.

IF grasped the cup of chrysanthemum tea that Plutia had given her in her hands, taking slow sips as she savored the sweet and flowery taste.

The room both IF and Plutia sat in was filled thoroughly with cute stuffed dolls. Bunnies, horses and so on.

"Thanks, Onee-chan. It's really appreciated."

IF smiled, internally thinking that taking the job on was a great idea, when she suddenly felt a chill down her spine. Plutia was staring at her with what she could only call 'a mother's reprimanding look'.

"So, with that out of the way… Mind telling me why you reek of alcohol, Iffy?"

IF's eyes quickly floated to the left as she tried to think of an excuse.

She couldn't think of one, and thus decided to just tell the truth.

"U-uh… I drank a lot yesterday?"

Plutia's stern expression quickly turned to disapproval, with a tinge of sadness as small tears formed in her eyes.

"Iffy… Drinking is bad for you. I don't want you to end up sad and regretful, okay?"

For some reason, Plutia's expression was making IF feel extremely guilty for what she had done yesterday.

IF decided to just come clean to settle things thoroughly, and to reassure Plutia.

"A-ah. It's okay, Onee-chan. I'll never drink again."

Plutia's tears faded to nothing, and her saddened expression turned into one of unbridled joy, as she clapped her hands together with a wink and smile.

"That's right, Iffy! Dooooon't drink! It's baaaaaad for you...!"

IF grinned a little, as she watched Plutia's childish antics. It really reminded IF about how she acted back with Deco.

"I understand, Onee-chan."

IF grasped the mug of tea yet again, and took another sip.

She placed the mug down and continued.

"Anyway, how's everything been going, Plutia? I've been rather good, and my work at the Planeptune mission board has really paid me well so far."

IF questioned, before adding on a bit about herself.

"Eh? Plutia? Not... Onee-chan?"

Plutia seemed rather confused at the sudden change of name, and she shifted her head to the left while blinking slowly, wondering why IF had not called her 'Onee-chan'.

IF choked, before scrambling to get her composure back to normal.

"U-uh. Well, I'll take that as you want me to keep calling you 'Onee-chan' then. So, as I was saying-"

Before she could continue, Plutia had cut her off.

"I've been good, Iffy! I managed to fulfill my dream of being a dollmaker, and Kei-san sells them for me in exchange for giving me food and some money. Also, I've got something for you! Could you wait for a moment, Iffy?"

Plutia suddenly stood up, and ran clumsily out of the living room and into another room, making small pitter-patter noises like before.

"A-ah. Okay."

Plutia was now gone from the living room, so IF took a moment to study the house from where she was sitting.

In the living room, there were many dolls scattered about and lots of materials to make dolls kept in clear drawers which were all labelled with what they held inside. 'Cloth', 'wadding', 'needles', and so on.

The kitchen was connected directly to the living room, and as far as IF could see, it had the standard sink, refrigerator… it had everything you would normally see in a kitchen.

She looked on to where Plutia had ran off to, a small corridor that seemed to connect the living room to another room, which she assumed to be where Plutia slept.

The sound of muffled running was heard once again, and Plutia came out of the corridor, with her hands behind her back, smiling widely.

"I'm baaaaaack, Iffy!"

"Ah, welcome back… Hmm? Why do you have your hands behind your back?"

Plutia walked towards IF, with her hands still behind her back, still smiling.

"What do you think it is, Iffy?"

It seemed that Plutia was hiding something behind her back, and was waiting for IF to guess what it was.

IF honestly had no clue on what it possibly could be, unless…

"Is it…" A pause, "A doll?"

"Aww. You guessed it right in one try! Here you go, Iffy."

Plutia's smile turned into a mock-exasperated look, and she pulled the doll from her back to give IF the doll.

With a brief glance at Plutia's hands, IF's eyes widened in surprise.

"Is this…"

It was a small, cute doll of IF, clad with the ragged blue coat from when they both had first met with a bright, big smile on its face.

"It's a doll of when you were younger, Iffy! You've grown so much. Do you like it?"

IF smiled nostalgically as Plutia handed her the doll, which now sat beside her on the couch.

"I do. Thank you, Onee-chan."

Plutia smiled widely once again in response.

"Glad you like it, Iffy! Keep it safe as long as you live, okaaaay?"

IF's answer came without a thought.

"I will."

And with that, the two started to talk about how each other had passed their days, and what had happened over the years.

"I haven't done too much, to be honest. I've just been doing jobs at the mission board. What about you, Onee-chan?"

"I've been making people happy with my dolls! Kei-san helps me distribute them."

"Really now? I see. Anyway… Do you mind if I ask you something, Onee-chan?"

"Sure, Iffy! I'll answer anything!"

Plutia smiled infectiously, and IF knew that she would deliver.

There came the hook.

"Onee-chan… are you really immortal?"

Her smile turned into a wistful grimace.

"..."

IF looked down in resignation.

"I'm sorry for asking this. I don't need an ans—"

Plutia raised her hand for IF to stop.

"I am, Iffy. I'm 86 years old this year."

IF was taken aback and at a loss for words.

How could Plutia be 86 years old despite looking so young?

She decided to prod further.

"What happened, Onee-chan?"

A blunt question.

"Have you ever heard of CPU Memories, Iffy?"

IF raised her eyebrow in confusion.

What were CPU Memories?

From the name, it sounded like they related to the CPUs in some manner.

Could it be that they held a fragment of a CPU's power?

"I've never heard of them. What are they?"

Plutia seemed to be a little crestfallen as she cast the spell of a tale.

Her back hunched, and the young façade of her supposed age faded.

"CPU Memories have the power to make a normal human a CPU, Iffy."

Now this was the kicker, and with that IF knew.

The implication made her eyes widen.

"So… why aren't you ruling over a nation then?"

Another question.

"I don't want to be a CPU, Iffy. This power is… dangerous."

' _Dangerous?'_ IF thought of the possibilities.

Her mind ran into overdrive.

' _That implies that the power may affect her in some manner, or it causes some form of devastation. Could it be that she can't control the power of a CPU? This is worrying.'_

But there was something even more alarming.

' _If anyone can become a CPU through the use of these… CPU Memories, then why exactly…'_

Why wasn't this common knowledge?

A normal person becoming a CPU was completely unheard of to IF.

As far as she had heard, the True Goddess split her power into four, resulting in the 4 CPUs that they had today.

This was beyond heresy or blasphemy. This revelation would shake— no, demolish the underpinnings for all of Gamindustri.

It was time for questions.

"Where did these CPU Memories come from, Onee-chan?"

"I have no idea, Iffy. It's a rare phenomenon that only appears once every few thousand years. I was just unlucky enough to find one."

Seems like she really hated being a CPU, as far as IF could tell.

"How did it happen…?"

Plutia rubbed her head in embarrassment.

"Hehe… I accidentally put it together with my sandwich one day while I was having a small picnic that I had prepared for myself in the forest near Planeptune."

That was an unbelievably klutzy reason.

' _What the...'_

"But that doesn't matter. Let me tell you of how the power of a CPU affects a person, Iffy."

A serious expression.

It didn't really fit Plutia, but:

With that statement, began another tale to be told.

* * *

"I'm heading off…!"

The words were said to no one in particular.

Plutia was an orphan, one that took care of herself by selling dolls.

She sighed.

She had no friends that would stick by her.

She was alone.

She was an anomaly.

Stepping out of the house, she looked to the entrance of Planeptune.

Clad in her normal 'bedroom' clothes, Plutia had decided to go for a picnic in the Virtua Forest.

A picnic basket held by her side, a small straw hat worn over her head.

The walk was short, yet it felt to Plutia that it had given her some insight.

She had arrived in the forest.

Plutia looked around in amazement as she took in her surroundings.

The beauty of the forest charmed her.

The musky scent of ashwood, the morning dew that settled in the grass and leaves of the trees…

It was… nice.

She set up her picnic along the side of the riverbank, still surrounded by trees.

She sat down, and put down her straw picnic basket and red and white checkered pattern mat.

She placed the contents of the basket onto the mat.

A ham and butter sandwich, a bottle of water, and some tomato soup that one of her customers had given her as a small tip.

"This is good…"

She took a small bite of the sandwich.

Pouring the soup into the a small bowl that she had brought along, she briefly glanced at the water.

Ever shining with the reflection of sunlight glistening in the water, she noticed something in the shallow depths of the river.

"What is that…?"

It seemed to be some sort of gem, colored purple with a power symbol crystallized and held at the middle.

She stood up, and dipped her hand into the river to grab the gem.

With some effort, she acquired it.

Grasping the gem in her hand, she studied it carefully.

It definitely seemed like something extremely precious.

"I wonder if I can use this on one of my dolls… and sell it for extra."

After all, her doll-making was a necessity.

She sat back down in her mat.

Holding the gem in her right palm, she picked up the bowl of soup and drank.

The strong yet delectable taste of the tomato, with hints of coriander and garlic…

It made her forget.

She placed the bowl down, and picked up her sandwich with the gem still in her hand.

She felt something slip, and she bit into the sandwich, with the sound of an alarming crunch.

* * *

"And that's how I became a CPU, Iffy."

"...-at." IF mumbled incoherently.

Plutia slowly tilted her head to the left in confusion.

"Iffy?"

"...What comes after that?"

"I…"

A sigh.

"...I transformed, Iffy."

There it went.

"...Could you show me your Goddess form?"

Plutia's eyes widened in shock, and she shook her head wildly.

"No, Iffy! No way. It's too dangerous."

IF thought of the possibilities yet again.

It must affect Plutia in a very sensitive manner.

' _I better not push it then.'_

But she still wanted to know more.

"Onee-chan… why is it dangerous?"

"Iffy… It gives me weird thoughts and I act completely differently. I… could end up hurting you, Iffy."

IF's eye twitched slightly, as if something was telling her that it was a good idea not to go on.

' _Yup, better not push it.'_

IF pulled her pink flip phone out from her coat and checked the cover for the time.

'18:26.' It read.

' _Time to go,' she thought._

She slung her much lightened bag that held the doll that Plutia had given her over her shoulder.

"I understand. I won't ask for more then. Anyway, thanks for hosting me, Onee-chan. I've gotta go. The food from Kei is in the kitchen, all packed up and ready."

"Right now, Iffy?! I want you to stay though…"

"I would love to stay for longer… but I've got to get back home for dinner. I'll visit you next week, alright?"

Plutia seemed sad for a moment, before her face turned back into a picture of happiness.

"Alright. Pinky promise me, okay?"

Plutia stretched out her pinky towards IF with a look that even IF could not resist.

IF took her pinky and rolled it over Plutia's with a smile.

"I promise."


	9. Chapter 9- Past: Dream

"...-tune."

In the silence that she had so desired, she heard a voice.

What was it saying?

What was it that she was hearing?

She decided to ignore the voice, since, after all...

She didn't want her momentary peace to disappear.

At least, in here… she didn't need to worry about anything.

"...-tune…!"

The voice grew closer and louder, as if the source was right in front of her.

The steady yet gentle grasp of the silence was slowly losing its grip.

She resisted the call of awakening.

Once again, the voice called, now clear as day.

" **Neptune! Wake up!** "

With that final call, Neptune finally jerked awake, and fell right out of bed.

Thud.

Grasping her head where it had struck the floor, she looked at the culprit whom had interrupted her sleep.

A tome, a fairy, she could be known to some as such, but to Neptune:

She was Histoire, her friend and helper in this world where nothing went right for her.

Holding her throbbing head, Neptune thought to herself:

' _I must've slept in. Damn, I've got to get to work. After all, I can't afford to fall further behind all the others...'_

She opened her mouth to speak, but Histoire decided to drone on first.

"Neptune, we might be in times of peace, but you still need to work! Don't you know that we're falling behind in terms of shares?!"

Neptune's train of thought stopped in the middle of the tracks.

 _Eh?_

Times of peace?

Was Histoire playing a cruel joke on her…?

How could this age of bitter struggle be called times of peace?

The world was embroiled in strife, as all the CPUs were at each other's throats…

So how, in the damned name of the Gamindustri Graveyard could this be called peace?!

"What are you even talking about, Histoire…? We're not living in times of peace… Have you forgotten what happened to all of us?!"

Neptune spoke with an anguished ferocity, her dangerous eyes glaring at Histoire with unbridled rage.

Histoire seemed to flinch back in shock and her eyes widened, as if she had not expected this sort of response from Neptune.

As if she didn't know that this was a sensitive topic for Neptune. Histoire had been working with Neptune for her entire life, so she should've known what made her tick.

Histoire, still rather shocked from Neptune's fierce retort, decided to speak up, albeit softly.

"What happened to you, Neptune…? Did you have a bad dream or something…?"

Neptune, still as enraged as before, shouted with an alarming intensity:

"A bad dream, huh? Aren't we already living in a nightmare?! I'm the failed goddess of a rotting nation, the children starve homeless on the streets, and Lowee is always on the brink of smothering our smoldering ashes!"

Histoire flinched once again, as she rubbed small tears off her eyes, and murmured with a sombre sadness:

"...I'm sorry… Neptune… Whatever I did… I'm sorry…"

Instantly, Neptune knew that she had gone too far.

She walked up to where Histoire was floating, and gave her a gentle hug.

"Histoire… S-Sorry...I went a bit too far there… I'll get to work."

Histoire's eyes widened as a small tear fell.

"Neptune… What happened to you…?"

"What do you mean, Histoire…?"

"You normally play games all day… You have this weird look in your eyes, like you've lost a part of yourself. It reminds me of Arfoire from back when she was corrupted..."

Neptune rubbed her head with a confused look.

Right now, Neptune was at a complete loss.

Did she accidentally wake up in another dimension or something?

Neptune sighed, before looking at Histoire whom was in her arms.

"I don't know… Histoire."

An unfamiliar voice suddenly came into the room, with the muffled sound of footsteps reverberating throughout the room.

"Hey… Onee-chan, Histoire...? Is everything alright in here? Eh?! Why are the both of you hugging each other like that?!"

Neptune jumped involuntarily, her heart's pace quickening.

Did someone just call her… 'Onee-chan'…?

Neptune turned to look at the door where she was met with purple eyes, just like her own.

The girl standing in the doorway had long lilac hair, which was adorned with a single D-Pad hairclip.

She wore a sailor's dress, with the logo of Planeptune embroidered upon it.

Neptune's eyes widened in shock, and an incredulous look took ahold of her face.

She, at this point, had no idea what was happening.

' _What the heck is going on here…?'_

* * *

"Do I really need to repeat it again to you all? Apparently, the experiments that we carried out yesterday created a temporary dimensional shift, causing the soul of another dimension's Neptune to enter our Neptune's body. As of now, there are two souls in Neptune's body, but our Neptune, for some reason, is not awakening at all. As far as I can tell, this should sort itself out in a day."

The silver haired woman, whom Neptune did not recognize, spoke with the composure of a teacher of old. Neptune suspected the silver haired woman had lived for countless years, even more than herself.

Well, Neptune was pretty young, anyways. She was about 110 years old this year, so it wasn't that farfetched that another immortal being was older than her.

In terms of a CPU's age, Neptune was pretty young.

So, she ran through the info she had acquired from the talk that she had with the silver haired woman.

Apparently, this world was at peace due to her counterpart's actions, bringing all the CPUs together as friends to beat some really evil enemy.

How she did it was a complete mystery. Neptune didn't think she could function with amnesia.

She stopped that train of thought.

Neptune briefly studied the room that she sat in. The walls were colored an eye-catching pink, with two couches and a coffee table.

The décor was… interesting to say the least. There was a gigantic syringe sitting in the corner of the room, with a few coats hung up next to it. There was a Planeptune nurse uniform hung up on the wall as well.

She briefly glanced at the people that were in the room.

There was Histoire who floated on her book, the lilac-haired girl who had called her 'Onee-chan', and the silver haired woman. There was also a brunette with green eyes that seemed rather familiar, and a blonde with orange eyes and a chest that was rather… well-endowed.

The green eyed brunette was clad in a blue coat that had a lot of things strapped upon it, while the blonde was dressed in a fluffy sweater.

Neptune sighed in annoyance, and decided to reply to what the silver haired woman had said.

"So what you're saying is… I'll only be here for a day, huh? That's great, but I still have a lot of work to do. I do have a question, though. What are all of your names? I only know Histoire, since she's my Oracle."

Histoire clapped her hands together, leaning forward.

"Well if you already know who I am… everyone introduce yourselves to Neptune, please!"

Histoire spoke with a certain excitement that Neptune herself hadn't felt in about 35 years.

The brunette with green eyes and the blue coat spoke up first, with a small grin.

"Hello, other... Neptune. My name is IF, and I'm a Guild Agent. Pleased to meet you."

Oh, so she was the girl that she had seen fight in the Carnival Catastrophe. She was a rather impressive fighter, and she deserved a commendation… not like Neptune could give one, however. She didn't have enough free time.

She decided to act as if she had never met IF before.

"IF, huh? Interesting name and profession. I'll keep it in mind. What about you, uh… the silver haired lady?"

The silver haired woman chuckled, as she cupped her chin with a smile.

"Well, my name is Arfoire. Hello, Neptune."

Neptune's eye twitched when she heard the name.

Well despite what her dimension's Arfoire had done, she couldn't really hold anything against this Arfoire. She seemed rather nice, and probably could be trusted, as far as Neptune could tell.

"Hello to you too, I guess."

The blonde girl with orange eyes then spoke up, clapping her hands together with delight.

"Hello, other Nep-Nep! My name is Compa, and I'm a nurse-in-training!"

'Nep-Nep', huh? The Neptune of this world and this girl must be close.

But something about her was familiar, and so she asked:

"Compa… your name sounds familiar to me. What's your surname, by the way?"

Compa fingered her lip and tilted her head to the side.

"It's Coeur. Why do you ask?"

Neptune's eye twitched again.

The world was really screwing with her at this point.

Kei had been telling her about these two, saying that they if they joined the Special Forces, they would be a pair to reckoned with. Enough to reverse Planeptune's decline, or so Kei alleged.

Still, Neptune tried to dissuade Kei from doing so. Despite having not seen them before, Neptune knew exactly who IF was and who Compa were from various dossiers and their family connections. All they wanted was to live together in peace.

If Neptune could give them peaceful lives, then she would've been able to give someone else an advantage that she could never have. That was good enough for her.

Once again, she decided to play the fool.

"Nothing. I thought I knew you from somewhere."

And finally, there was one left.

One that had caught her attention thoroughly.

"U-uh… my name is Nepgear… and I'm your younger sister… I guess?"

Of all the things that could happen, she got to see what could've been her younger sister, the CPU Candidate of Planeptune.

She just hated this.

Well, she couldn't do much about it.

"Is that so…? I don't have a younger sister in my dimension. Wish I did, though."

Histoire then put her hand forward towards Neptune, as if asking her for something.

"Well, with that out of the way… I guess it's time for you to introduce yourself, Neptune. Also, what is your dimension like?"

Well, it was finally her turn to speak.

She placed her hand on her chest, and began:

"My name is Neptune, CPU of Planeptune, also known as Purple Heart," She paused to calm herself, "My dimension is… well… just, how do I explain this…?"

Neptune hid a grimace, but it did not go unnoticed by Arfoire, who spoke aloud to ask Neptune to continue.

"Well… what exactly is your dimension like? It can't be that bad, could it?"

Neptune sighed once again, in sadness or regret, even she couldn't tell.

"Noire, Vert, Blanc and I… we're all enemies. Blanc has gone insane with power, Noire has turned into a megalomaniac, and Vert is turtling on her island, waiting for all of us to kill one another. Unlike the floating isles you have, Lastation, my nation, and Lowee all exist on one continent. Leanbox is on another, and is across the sea from the main continent."

Neptune clenched her fist and looked down at the ground, depressed to the bone.

"As far as things go, Planeptune is the worst nation of them all. I'm falling behind them all since all of the other nations have CPU Candidates. I try, try and try… and yet, what work I do gives me nothing in return. It's just… I want to give up. I want it all to end."

She sighed yet again.

"But when I see Histoire, working tirelessly, day and night as hard as she possibly can, it just makes me feel worse about the fact that I want to give up. So I push on, and keep trying to make Planeptune what it used to be, no matter how futile it is."

She looked up, staring into the eyes of the five that seemed to give her looks of varying amounts of pity, and then Neptune smiled sadly.

"And that's how it is. That's what my dimension is like."

A brief moment of silence.

"So, could you give me a brief overview of everything that's happened in this dimension? I'm just curious."

Histoire broke out of her stupor, and began to speak:

"Well, here's a quick rundown then. A few thousand years ago, there was a goddess who turned evil, and four humans known as the Quartet took it upon themselves to fight the goddess. With the help of Arfoire, they defeated the goddess, at the cost of Quartet's lives and Arfoire's humanity. After the goddess was defeated, the four CPUs were born: Neptune, Noire, Vert and Blanc," Histoire paused to catch her breath.

"Due to the meddling of corrupted Arfoire, the four CPUs fought for eras. This internecine fighting between the goddesses came to be known as the 'Console War'. After some time, Blanc, Noire, and Vert ganged up on the other you, and expelled her from Celestia…"

Neptune raised her eyebrow in confusion.

"Wait, hold on a second. What's Celestia?"

"Ah, I assume that Celestia doesn't exist in your dimension? Celestia was a floating isle that was above all of the nations and used to be where the CPUs lived."

Her ears twitched.

' _Was…?'_

"With your use of words there, I assume that it's gone now? What happened?"

"Well, after Arfoire had been defeated by the CPUs, she made Celestia collapse, ergo, self-destruct. She was going to perish, but the other you saved her and made her what you see her as now, a purified human without the corrupted power of the goddess."

Neptune nodded in understanding.

"I see. Thanks."

Another moment of silence.

Neptune figured that she would get the ball rolling.

"Well, anyway… I'd like to get to know you guys a little better, so could you tell me a little more about yourselves? You've told me your names, and what you do for a living, but I know close to nothing about you guys other than that. Likes, dislikes, favorite food, dreams for the future or something like that. I'll start," Neptune took a small breath before continuing,

"I like when I finish work early and have time to spend to work on other projects that my Histoire and I have. I dislike eggplants. Favorite food would be… well, any type of pudding. A dream of mine would be for all of us CPUs to become friends again. That's unlikely to happen, though. Well… I pick IF to start off first."

IF grinned a little in response.

"Well, some things never change with you, Neptune. Like I mentioned beforehand, my name is IF, and I'm a Guild Agent. I like, uh," IF blushed for a second, before coughing. "Never mind. I dislike people who waste their time sitting around doing nothing. I don't really have a favorite food, since food is a necessity, and, to be frank, I'll eat anything that Compa makes anyway. And a dream, huh? I don't really have one since I'm happy with how things are now. Well, it's your turn, Compa!"

Compa smiled joyfully, as she took the metaphorical baton pass from IF and ran along with the race.

"I like Iffy, Nep-Nep and everyone else. I don't dislike anything. I don't have any favorites when it comes to food, and I'm just happy to see everyone's smiles while they eat my cooking! My dream would be to finally become a nurse and make my grandpa proud!"

Once again, she called her counterpart 'Nep-Nep'. It made her wonder.

Time to ask a question, she supposed.

She raised her hand as if she were a student in a classroom, going to ask the teacher a question.

"Hold on for a bit… Just a question."

"Yes, other Nep-Nep?"

There, she called her 'Nep-Nep' again.

"Why do you call my counterpart and I 'Nep-Nep'?"

Before Compa could reply, IF butted in with a deadpan.

"For some reason, she can't pronounce 'Neptune' despite being able to say 'Planeptune' perfectly. It's really odd. That's why she calls you 'Nep-Nep'."

"I see," Neptune nodded in understanding, before continuing, "Well, and finally, it's your turn, Arfoire. Take it away."

Arfoire folded her arms in response.

"I don't really have anything to say about myself, other than I'm really happy that everything's peaceful now."

"Fair enough. Well, Histoire. There's work for this Neptune to do, right? Let me do it."

Histoire nodded, a fair share of surprise shown on her face.

"W-Wuh? What about me?" Nepgear pointed to herself in exasperation.

"Just come along. From my experience, you learn more about a person when working along with them."

"A-alright, then."

* * *

"So… apparently, today is some sort of celebration? And all the other CPUs are coming over to the Basilicom to celebrate…?"

Histoire told Neptune that she didn't need help with work at the moment , and suggested that the goddess help out Nepgear with the decorations instead.

The lilac haired girl, Nepgear, sat under a small fig tree that was taller than her by about a head. Empty boxes that used to hold the decorations that now hung on the tree surrounded her.

The job was half done. The festive ornaments were all set up, sparkly onions and all, but the festive lights were still not set up, and according to Nepgear, there was still something special left.

"Yeah! It's a small celebration to commemorate the spirit of giving, and the birth of the four goddesses."

As Nepgear unrolled the coil of lights and spun them around the tree like a snake would constrict its prey, Neptune felt something peculiar.

It was an unrelenting feeling of happiness, one that she hadn't felt since Noire gave her that gift all those years ago.

Neptune figured that it was because of the fact that she could finally take a break, and enjoy something.

"I see. Well, I hope that I can act well enough when they arrive…"

"You don't really need to, Neptune. Histoire has already informed the other CPUs about you, after all… Wow, goodness. It's rather weird to call you by my sister's name."

A brief pause.

"Done! The lights are set up… and…"

Nepgear walked up to Neptune, with her hands behind her back and a bright smile that was plastered on her face.

"Here you go, Neptune. You do the honors!"

Nepgear gave Neptune a cog, and a small button the size of her palm.

"What are these for?" Neptune questioned as she held the cog in her right hand, and the button in her left.

Nepgear gave a smile.

"You put the cog at the top of the tree, and you press the button afterwards."

Neptune nodded, placed the button down on the ground and tip-toed to reach the top of the tree.

Slowly… slowly…

She would reach her target.

' _Just a little bit more…'_

Nothing.

She couldn't reach it.

Neptune sighed.

It was times like these where she hated the fact that she was so short.

"Give me a second, Nepgear. Access."

A bright, purple light spewed out from Neptune's body, and she transformed.

Now, she was a head taller than Nepgear, so she could definitely reach the top of the tree.

With a small grin, she fitted the cog carefully at the top of the tree, and she stepped back to admire her handiwork.

"Well, that's done. Nep-, huh. Nepgear?"

Nepgear was staring at her with eyes of complete attention, as if she was studying Neptune like she was a test subject.

To be honest, Neptune was rather creeped out. It did not help that Neptune had a strange feeling in her left hand in her Purple Heart form.

"Ah, it's nothing Onee-chan. Just thinking about how I never really get to do anything with my sister… I wanted to do this with her, but knowing her, she would just sit around, play games, and eat snacks. Thanks for this, Neptune."

It seemed like this world's Neptune needed to do something about neglecting her sister.

' _I think I can do something to help with this… I wonder if my writing skills are still up to par…'_

"Well, no problem there Nepgear. Really though, your sister should be taking care of you, and not spend so much time on games. She needs to cherish what she has, by giving you more of her attention. She needs to work too, and not just laze around."

"Hehe…"

Nepgear giggled, as Neptune gave her thoughts.

"Hmm? What are you laughing about?"

"No-nothing! It's just a little weird to hear that from someone who looks just like my sister."

"Huh, is that so? Anyway, I'm transforming back now. This uses too much energy."

Neptune, in her transcended state, snapped her fingers, and a purple light flowed around her.

She was back to her human form.

Nepgear smiled softly as the light faded.

"It's really kind of weird to see someone that looks just like my sister act so serious all the time…"

"You know my reasons, Nepgear," Neptune paused to pick up the button, "So I press this now?"

Nepgear nodded, giving Neptune a thumbs up as a signal of approval.

"Alright. Here goes nothing..." Neptune, with some hesitation, pushed the big red button.

' _Click.'_

A blinding light emanated from the tree, and Neptune quickly covered her eyes with her arm in response.

The light soon faded, and Neptune uncovered her eyes.

' _Woah…'_

The tree's lights now shone in their multicolored brilliance, and the cog that fitted at the top of the tree somehow kept balance, as it spun like a top.

"What do you think, Neptune?"

Neptune, with a genuine smile, replied:

"It's great. I can't wait for the celebration."

Nepgear, hearing that, smiled as well.

"You'll definitely enjoy it, Onee-chan!"

Neptune chuckled in delight.

"...I could get used to hearing that. Heh, let's get prepared, shall we?"

"Understood, Onee-chan!"

* * *

"Thanks for helping me with this, Neptune! I'm really astonished that you've done all of this week's work within an hour. It's very much appreciated! (^o^)"

Neptune sat in her counterpart's office next to Histoire, who was watching the goddess sign papers quickly and efficiently while reading each paper's contents to completion in a matter of seconds.

With this, Histoire was rather thankful that she had some help for once.

Although she knew that this Neptune wasn't the one she knew, it was still peculiar to watch someone that looked like her work in such an efficient manner.

It was like having a second Noire, although Histoire could tell that despite being younger, this Neptune was a lot more cold and calculative. She might have shown a bit of emotion when they had introduced themselves, but Histoire knew that she probably didn't show much emotion in the first place.

However, watching her work in such a manner was quite saddening, especially if Histoire attempted to put all the pieces that she had together. If she worked like this, every single day and night, how bad must the situation be over there, in her world?

Neptune shrugged, and swiped a bit of her hair away from her eyes with the hand that held the fountain pen that she had used to sign all of the papers, and smiled a little.

"This is nothing, really. This is little compared to what I deal with daily. Although, speaking in emoticons? That's rather interesting. I've never seen anyone do that before. It's cute."

' _C-Cute?!'_ Histoire nearly had a panic attack from hearing those words from Neptune.

It wasn't said in a joking manner that she was used to from her own Neptune, but it was said in the form of a compliment.

Once again, this was just more evidence to show that this Neptune was truly different from the one she knew.

"Hmm, Histoire? Why are you staring at me like that?"

Histoire broke out of her stupor, and waved her hands in some form of denial.

"N-Nothing! Uh… so do you need anything…? (◠﹏◠ )"

Changing the subject was the best course of action, Histoire supposed. It wouldn't do good for her if someone found out that she reacted in such a manner.

"Yeah. Could you give me some paper? I'd like to write a letter."

Histoire's interest was piqued.

"A letter? To whom, may I ask? (°A° )"

"The other me. I've heard from Nepgear that the other me doesn't do enough around here, and I'd like to remedy that with a small letter. It'll take some time, but this is my gift to you all for the celebration later on today."

Neptune stared out the window for a second, taking note of the fact that the sky was slowly being colored a bright amber, before she began to speak again.

"If I can do something about her lazy attitude, then I'll do so without hesitation. It's unbecoming of 'me', after all."

Histoire nodded in agreement, and with a smile, she floated away from the table to grab some A4 sized papers for Neptune to write upon.

After about 3 seconds, Histoire came back with about 4 pieces of paper and placed them in front of Neptune, huffing and puffing a little in tiredness, as she still floated upon her book next to Neptune.

Neptune smiled in response, whilst she twirled the fountain pen around her index finger.

"Thanks, Histoire. Please make sure that this letter reaches 'me', alright?"

Still huffing after exerting some of her energy to float around that quickly, Histoire gave a bright smile in return.

"I understand. Thank you, Neptune. (◠ω◠ *)"

"Also, I figured you would want to know something…"

"What is it, Neptune? (ﾟДﾟ?)"

"It's about all the other CPUs back in my world, and what we used to be like together."

Histoire's expression turned serious.

"I see. Then, I'll keep it in mind."

* * *

"So, how's your sister, Nepgear? I heard about what happened from Histoire." Noire questioned, her eyes filled with unbridled curiosity.

"Yeah, how is she, Nepgear?" Uni followed her sister's example, also questioning Nepgear on the change.

"S-Stop crowding around me! Well, she's a lot nicer..." Nepgear replied, the latter part of her statement said rather softly.

"Hey, Nepgear. Take one." Neptune walked over with two glasses of water in her hands, handing one to Nepgear.

"Ah. Thanks, Onee-chan." Nepgear gave a smile whilst taking a sip of the water that Neptune had given her.

"No worries. Don't drink too fast, okay? Don't want you to choke." Neptune patted down Nepgear, as she gave another smile in return.

"Also, hello Uni… and Noire. How's it going?"

Neptune's eye twitched subtly, as she studied the two that stood before her.

Interestingly enough, and as far as she could tell they seemed rather normal, and had a good relationship unlike the Uni and Noire of her dimension.

And they didn't have that weird, foreboding aura that emanated from them, so that was good.

She briefly glanced at her surroundings.

Vert and Blanc had just arrived along with Rom and Ram, and Vert was greeting IF… with a wholesome hug that did not hide her intentions. Compa seemed rather miffed about it.

Rom and Ram seemed to be discussing some sort of plan, judging from their cheeky grins.

Blanc was just staring at Vert, with avid anger in her eyes, but Neptune knew it wasn't that bad, since no one had started trying to kill each other yet.

' _If only it could be that way back in my world, huh?'_

She turned back to look at the two that stood before her.

"Ah, hello other Neptune. I've heard about you from Histoire." The black twin-tailed goddess greeted Neptune.

"Is that so," She put on a faux smile. "Well, what do you want to know?"

Neptune was on guard, like always. Yet, she felt something tug on her heartstrings when she looked at Noire.

It was always that way, wasn't it? She knew that this wasn't the Noire that she knew and loved, but…

No, she couldn't. It wasn't right.

"Well…"

Neptune sighed in sadness, her purple eyes hardening.

"If you have nothing to ask of me, I'll take my leave."

She turned, and left whilst holding tears from falling.

"Well, that was weird. What happened there, Nepgear?" Uni asked with a bewildered look.

Nepgear looked at the fading silhouette of Neptune's slightly hunched back.

"No idea…"

Noire mumbled.

"I…"

She took a step.

It was time for her to find out.

* * *

' _Plink.'_

The sound of a cup being struck upon a table.

"Hmm? Neptune? Why aren't you with the party?"

"I can't do this, Histoire."

"Wuh? What do you mean by that?"

"I can't go in there with Noire in there as well. It just…"

Unable to complete her sentence, tears rolled down Neptune's face.

"I see... Do you want to stay here till the day ends…?"

"Yeah. It's for the best. Also… I'm done."

Neptune gave Histoire an unmarked letter.

"Ah… I'll make sure to pass it along to this dimension's Neptune."

Histoire stowed the letter away inside her book.

"What do you mean you can't go in there with me?"

Noire walked into the room, slightly flustered. Noire walked over right next to Neptune, and placed her hand on the purple haired goddess's shoulder.

"N-Noire! You know better than to do this! I told you what happened! (ꐦ ಠ皿ಠ )"

"No," Neptune sobbed, "It's okay."

Silently, Neptune turned to face Noire. Tears began to run down her face in a torrential storm, as she began to uncontrollably sob in her regrets.

Noire responded by hugging Neptune, the Lastation goddess's soft assets pressing into the crying girl's face.

"Neptune, it's okay. **I'll always be here with you**."

Neptune immediately shoved Noire away, breaking out of the hug.

"Wha-!?"

Noire fell onto her rear.

"Noire… you hurt me so much, to hear those words again. My Noire and I… we were lovers, more or less. Under the starry night, she promised those exact same words. Yet, now… now she's so far away from me…"

Although Neptune stopped sobbing, the tears continued to flowed from her leaking faucet eyes.

"When I wake up, you will be gone again. The love I once knew will be again replaced by hatred and ruthless cruelty. The Noire I loved will be gone again."

Neptune took in a big breath of air, as her eyes widened in realization.

"I'll… be alone again."

Neptune collapsed to her knees, before slamming the floor with her fist.

"It's not fair! I didn't get a sister, I lost the one I love, and now the True Goddess has decided to torment me by showing what another Neptune has!?"

Neptune crawled over to Noire.

"I worked as hard as I can. I've outstretched my hand out to the other three nations at every turn, but none of them want to be friends again. I'll never be more than the shittiest goddess, I'll never have a sister, and above all, **I'll never have you again, Noire**!"

Neptune pressed her face against Noire's.

The goddess of Lastation, who had been so utterly shocked, yet also touched, by the onslaught of brutal revelations, finally snapped out of stupor when she could feel the warmth of Neptune's breath.

Neptune was once again softly embraced by the twintailed goddess.

"I… I'm not even the Neptune you know…"

Noire softly stroked Neptune's hair, as she spoke what was on her mind, and what she felt was fitting.

"Neptune is Neptune."

A long, silent moment passed before Noire continued.

"Can't you feel it within you? The other Neptune. She's crying with you. She's suffering with you. She wants you to be happy."

A small smile formed on Noire's face.

"As do I." Noire said as she gazed into Neptune's eyes.

"Noire…"

Neptune had no words in reply.

Noire broke the embrace, stood up, and helped Neptune onto her feet.

"Tomorrow, you will return to hardship. You will return to a life where everything seems hollow. You'll want to give up."

Noire pressed close to Neptune, and whispered into her ear.

"But don't ever give up. You can save the other Noire, I know you can."

She took out a small purple handkerchief and wiped away Neptune's tears.

With a look of positivity, and a tone of declaration, she began:

"Tomorrow you will return to the struggle. There will be many days that you will cry in pain and suffering. Yet, today is not such a day. Let us make memories that shall be your happiness in the pain, your light in the dark! Tonight, let us dance!"

Without warning, Noire flashed in a bright white light.

Neptune felt a tight squeeze of her own hand, and felt a strange resonance as their hands touched.

Without giving Neptune any time to comprehend what was going on, she began to shine in a similar, bright purple light.

"E-Eh!?"

Before Neptune stood Black Heart, in an elegant dress that subtly highlighted her assets.

In contrast, Neptune, or rather Purple Heart, stood in a dress with an extraordinarily low-cut that barely bothered to cover her massive E cup breasts.

"W-What kind of dress is this!? A-And how did you make me go into goddess form!?"

Neptune blushed a bright hot red; the composure of regular Purple Heart was nowhere to be seen.

"Hehe, Neptune. You're so cute when you're embarrassed. My Neptune is always happy to show off and leverage her assets." Noire gently teased the flustered Nep.

"As for turning you to your goddess form, well… you must have felt our bond, right? That because we're..."

Black Heart shyly blushed, before taking Purple Heart's hand in her own.

Neptune felt the cold touch of metal on Noire's ring finger. No, thinking about it, Purple Heart had felt it earlier on her own ring finger when she transformed to set the 'star' on the tree, but she had not bothered about it.

Neptune stared at their hands in complete and utter disbelief.

Two rings, one gold on Neptune's left ring finger, and one silver on Noire's.

"W-we're m-married!?"

* * *

It was a night to be remembered.

Amidst the laughter and cocktails, the stars of the night danced.

For those moments, the purple's sorrow disappeared.

Without a care in the world, their passionate hearts continued through the night.

With every twirl and hold, her numbed soul thawed.

The once-rusted heart started to beat again.

Purple Heart smiled, holding her darling in her arms.

This life, this love.

They were what Neptune always wanted, and always deserved.

Yet, she knew.

They were not hers.

Just like every party, every holiday, and every dream.

It came to an end.

* * *

They made their way to Neptune's bedroom, where the purple haired goddess promptly collapsed upon the bed.

Standing beside her were Histoire, Nepgear, and Noire.

"So, it's time for me to head back, it seems." Neptune muttered as she lay prostrate on the bed.

"That seems to be the case, and according to what Arfoire told me, it should be painless, like waking up from a dream." Histoire replied calmly.

"Histoire, just make sure that your Neptune gets the letter, okay?"

"Of course."

"Nepgear, I'm glad that I got to be your older sister today. It wasn't long, but I'm happy that even for this brief time that I could have such a cute, loving, and diligent little sister."

"Onee-chan…"

"Noire… I… I wish I could stay here and be with you forever. I don't want to say goodbye to any of you. I… I love you, darling."

Noire had made Neptune call her 'darling' throughout the night, despite the latter's initial objections.

"One day, Neptune, we will be together again. One day, my Neptune and I will pay you and your Noire a visit, and we'll all be friends together."

Neptune softly smiled.

"Thank you, Noire... Please, take care."

"You too, Neptune."

As Neptune blacked out, she felt Noire's warm embrace.

* * *

When the goddess of Planeptune woke up, the paradise of peace was gone. She had returned to her dimension: a Gamindustri enveloped in eternal darkness, a land where the dawn would never come.

She sat in her bed. Had that all been but a dream? Or had that been real?

"Noire… I've lost you again…"

Neptune clenched her fist, and held her knees close to her face.

The warmth in her chest seemed to fade.

She was once again, cold and alone.

Her heart, once filled, was once again, barren and empty.

It had been real.

Other Noire was waiting for Neptune to save this Noire.

Those words of encouragement had been real.

So why?

Why did it hurt so much?

Why?

"Why do I feel so… empty…?"

A tear fell.

* * *

Neptune felt her consciousness come back to her.

' _Ugh… Why does everything… feel so far away?'_

Wait, why did she feel so warm?

She opened her eyes.

Noire, her beloved Noire was giving her a morning hug.

Neptune smiled in utter joy.

"Aww, Nowaru~, I didn't know you were coming over today! I would've prepared some snacks for you if I knew."

Noire parted from the hug, smiling.

"She's back! Welcome back, Neptune."

A confused look took ahold of Neptune's face.

"I'm back, Nowa? What happened?"

"I believe this will explain everything, Neptune."

Another voice, one that she was extremely familiar with, was heard.

"Histy? What's going on? Is this an intervention on my snacking habits?!"

Histoire smiled a little at Neptune's antics, before reaching into her book to grab a certain envelope.

"This is for you, Neptune. Make sure to read it carefully."

Histoire passed Neptune the unmarked letter.

"Eh? For me, Histy? Aww, you didn't have to!"

She unraveled the unmarked letter that Histoire gave her with haste, while basically ripping open the envelope.

She read the contents that were written in stunningly beautiful handwriting much unlike her own.

She glanced at it, before looking around her.

There was Nepgear, Histoire and Noire in the room, and Noire was very close to the bed in where she had slept.

She glanced out of the window.

It was completely dark out, signifying that it was night.

What had happened? She hoped that this letter would explain everything.

She began to read.

 _Dear Neptune,_

 _Hello. We've never met before, but I know quite a bit about you. What do I know, you may ask? You like pudding, and hate eggplants with a passion… we're similar in that regard. But despite our similarities, you've ended up better off than I have. I want to hate, despise you for it, but I can't find it in myself to do so._

 _Who am I, you may ask? I'm you, Neptune, from another world. I've seen what you've done, what you've achieved, and yet… I just feel like you should cherish whatever you have more than you do right now._

 _Right now, I'm in control of your body. Don't worry. I won't do anything._

 _It's because of some time-continuum experiment that Arfoire and Histoire were carrying out. You were affected by it somehow, and it got to me as well._

 _But let's get to the point._

 _You have a loving sister, Nepgear. You have the friendship of the other CPUs. And most of all, you have a peaceful world, one that you made possible._

 _I wish I had what you have. Did I never get what you acquired because of who I am? Is it because I never tried hard enough? I don't know, and I'll probably never know._

 _After all, I'm nothing more than the 'worst goddess'. In my dimension, I've failed countless times. I've failed to unite the CPUs together. I've never achieved any of my goals. I never acquired a CPU Candidate. And the worst part: I never made it to Lastation to save my Noire._

 _We're all enemies. We're all at each others' throats. Everyone is waiting for each other to kill one another._

 _Everyone is suffering._

 _The world is in constant chaos. And for it, I pay with my heart and soul._

 _Is this karma? Is this because of some life I had prior, in which I did nothing but do evil?_

 _What did I do to deserve this? I ask myself this question everyday._

 _I tried my hardest no matter what, and yet, I ended up with nothing._

 _Whereas you, with your lackadaisical attitude towards whatever you do… you made it. It's still… utterly confusing to me._

 _Now, you may be thinking… why do I take everything so seriously?_

 _It's the only thing I can do. Push on forward, with my mind set on improving everything I can for Planeptune._

 _If I ever stop working for Planeptune's future, my Histoire and I…_ ‒ _well, let's just say that we won't get a happy ending._

 _And with this, I…_

A part of the ink was smudged, with the wetness of a teardrop that was left on the paper.

The handwriting turned shaky and somewhat unclear.

 _I…_

 _I_ ‒

The handwriting seemed to stabilize.

 _I ask you of this. Please. Take care of Noire, take care of your sister… and please. Don't end up like me, alright?_

 _Work hard for Histoire, work hard for your sister… and don't forget about your friends._

 _They're all important. All of them._

 _Thank you for reading, Neptune. Heed my advice._

 _Please._

 _I beg you._

 _Because if you do, you'll already better off than I am._

 _You'll have succeeded, unlike me._

 _Heh… but in truth, you're already better than me._

 _You have everything._

 _I have nothing._

 _So please, cherish it._

 _This is the end of the page, so that's all I can write._

 _Thanks… for making this world possible… where everyone is happy._

 _I'm so glad that I got to see it._

 _So once again… thank you._

 _Take care._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Neptune._

And that was the end.

Neptune folded the paper and placed it back into the envelope, slowly pocketing it into her hoodie.

"So… another me took control of my body?"

A serious look, one that just did not fit on the face of this Neptune with her bubbly eyes appeared upon her face.

It was unlike her counterpart, whose eyes were as sharp as steel yet so hollow, looking for every single opportunity, looking for something to find solace in.

"That's about it, Neptune. Don't worry, nothing bad happened, despite today having been the day of the party."

"I see. I forgot about the party," she paused to look at Nepgear. "Could you come here for a second, Nep Jr.?"

"M-Me?!" the one mentioned pointed to herself, before continuing, "Uh, okay."

Noire stepped aside from the bed, and Nepgear took her place.

Neptune bended towards Nepgear, before giving her a big hug.

Nepgear's eyes widened, before bending along into the hug, closing her eyes as she did.

"Thank you for all that you've done for me, my dear little sister."

A heartfelt smile.

"No worries… Onee-chan."

As Histoire and Noire watched together, they smiled along.

Seems like there would be better days for all of them now.

Noire stared up to the ceiling, before wondering:

' _Will we ever meet her again…?'_


	10. Chapter 10- Past: Horizon

She began the incantation.

The words started to flow out of her mouth, and into the world.

"Correction; In there be none as all they come."

A blinding blue light started to emanate from the paper she sat on.

"Silenced in the revelations of all, there is one and done."

A dark purple light began to form around the paper that the sword rested upon.

"Predecessor of all, give the peer of living, the world."

The lights began to entwine.

She stretched her hand forward.

"In the slivers of silence, there be silver in the cast."

She took a breath.

"Fall, fall, fall. In the end, a path must be obtained and found."

A beam of blue energy began to separate from her being, and etch itself into the sword.

"I swear upon thy waters of all. The tears as I declare: Separate from in there all as they come, the one who keeps the balance!"

The surroundings began to glow with her words.

Nepgear's energy reached its peak, her hair flowing backwards with it.

The room was now filled in everlasting blue light, and Nepgear had quickly closed her eyes in order not to get blinded.

Slowly, the light began to fade.

She opened her eyes.

Looking briefly at the sword, she knew that she had succeeded.

"Success! But there's still so much more to go…"

Nepgear stared at the Gehaburn that lay beside her, taking note of the sparks of blue energy that pulsed and reverberated throughout the dark purple sword at timely intervals.

She had succeeded in her operation: Histoire's soul and power now resided in the sword, as far as she could tell.

Nepgear took note of the fact that her head no longer ached, and that her eyes no longer seemed to twitch with some sort of repressed pain.

However, she still felt as if there was something wrong.

Taking a glance at the gashes in the ground, and the desolation that surrounded her in the Planeptower that was formed from her operation, she thought to herself:

Histoire should've awoken by now… But why hadn't she?

The only thing that Nepgear had as the absolute certainty of that she had succeeded, was that the blue sparks of energy that were being released from the sword at momentary intervals had the same feeling of Histoire's magical signature.

Therefore, Nepgear knew that some part of Histoire must be in the sword that lay on the ground, unmoving.

"This is peculiar… What's going on?"

She decided to find out.

Bending over and taking ahold of the sword, she began to search its blade and guard for any changes.

As far as she could see, there was nothing of note.

"There's definitely something wrong if Histoire's not awakening... Time to give it a scan."

Nepgear decided to send a pulse of magical energy through the sword to see what was wrong with it.

While she prepared the technique, she remembered:

This was a technique Mina had taught her when Nepgear had visited her a decade ago to learn what she could to protect the world as it was now, a technique that Mina had wanted to teach Rom and Ram when their magical reserves matured, but she couldn't due to obvious… _reasons_.

As mages slowly grew older, they would be able to control the types of magical energy they could channel out from their magical staffs and or hands, as their magical reserves matured to have control over the magical energy within their bodies.

All mages were born to have differing types of specializations, so therefore, technically, they could only specialize in one element and or field.

In fact, at the beginning of every single mage's training, their mentor would ask a simple question:

"What kind of magical energy are your reserves specialised in?"

However, CPUs differed from normal mages, because, well, they were goddesses.

As a CPU matured, they would gain access and control over every single rendition of magical energy, being able to convert their energy into any element or specialized field.

This meant access to every single element, and every single non-elemental type magical energy without any sort of training.

Nepgear had to admit, it was pretty unfair.

People like Mina devoted their lives into mastering every element, every single field, and CPUs just got it for free?

That was truly unjust.

But humans had an advantage that CPUs could never have.

Every single person had a 'concept' built into them.

What that meant was that their magic had a 'word' built into their very function.

An example would be a 'concept' of the word ' _Protect'_.

A person with such a 'concept' would be extremely good at using barriers, and would be at their strongest when protecting others with their magic.

There were many more out there, but Nepgear found this very 'concept' to be admirable.

The basis of a 'concept' was that it was the culmination, the word that summarizes your nature, your soul into one word.

For your 'concept' to be ' _Protect',_ it meant that you valued the people that were around you very highly, and so many more things. It was truly admirable.

Since Nepgear was a CPU, she was not supposed to have a 'Concept'.

However, Nepgear, being the Deity of Sin, had not one, but two 'Concepts' that she truly despised to the very core of her soul.

They were 'Wrath', and 'Sin'.

This was just another piece of evidence that her existence was damning the world.

She sighed.

Nepgear thought back to Mina, the one whom had taught her so much and yet so little.

She had taught her how to find someone's 'concept'.

Send a resonant magic pulse through the person, and force it into the ground.

The word that they embody will form with writings on the ground.

She smiled, remembering when Mina had shown her how to do it, and to test it on Mina herself.

She was reminded of her shock when the words appeared.

Not one, but four.

Mina's 'concept' was peculiar.

It was not a single word.

It was a phrase, one that a person could understand, yet give no answer.

' _Infinites out of constants'._

Honestly, Nepgear didn't know what it truly meant.

Though in general, it meant that she could make anyone, no matter their potential, become more than what they could ever be under her tutelage. This included herself.

This was one of the many reasons why Blanc had hired her to be the mentor of Rom and Ram, and Nepgear had to agree wholeheartedly with Blanc's decision as she looked back with a nostalgic smile.

She truly was the best fit to be the caretaker and mentor of the two.

She was truly special.

A lone daisy in a field of sunflowers.

It couldn't last, however. Just like everything else.

' _Why did things have to end up this way…?'_

She knew it didn't matter now. She was **dead**.

Mina had committed suicide two years ago.

The flower that was Mina had wilted within the field.

A rope and a wooden stool within the Loweean District's Basilicom was used to end her own life.

Was it from her loss?

Was it the fact that she had failed to protect Rom and Ram?

Was it because of what Nepgear had _**done**_ …?

No matter what the reasons were, it was just another sin that bore down upon Nepgear's shoulders.

Sooner or later, the sins that piled up behind as the people around her died would start to catch up with her and crawl up her back.

She shivered involuntarily at the possibility, before shaking her head in silence.

"This is taking longer than I expected, however…"

Nepgear had been holding the sword in her hand for about two minutes now, and she couldn't find any anomalies within.

Histoire was in there with her power; It was unquestionable.

Why hadn't she awoken?

' _No matter. If she's there, then I don't need to bother about it anymore. Histoire will come to her senses in time… I hope. Well, whatever senses a sword has, anyway.'_

She smiled sadly, knowing that her momentary peace was about to be taken away.

" _ **Bang!"**_

The gate to the Planeptower had finally been broken.

She sighed as she stood on the top floor, awaiting the upcoming hell that was about to rage.

The horsebird cavalry had finally arrived.

Not to defend, but to attack.

She knew that her Special Forces had already been compromised from the start of her lone rulership over Planeptune.

Either way, it didn't matter.

No one would defend her.

No one would protect what she had left.

Only she would.

In their eyes, it was time for Histoire to be 'avenged'.

In hers, it was time to protect what little she had left.

"This isn't going to end well for any of us… is it?"

The blade breathed a dark purple, as if it was agreeing with Nepgear's statement.

"Of course it isn't. It's time, I suppose."

She clenched her fist, grasping the sword in her hands by the grip as hard as she could.

Her eyes darkened in sorrow.

A smile of melancholy.

She stood her ground.

"This is all I have left, after all."

* * *

With joy, IF smiled.

After all these years…

IF and Plutia had reunited.

As she walked back to her home, she fingered her bag in minor confusion.

Plutia had given IF a purple, wrapped package when she left, and asked her to open it when she arrived home.

 **' _Iffy, make sure you dooooon't open it up before you reach home… oookay….?'_**

Plutia had made a face that IF could only describe as ' _ **utterly terrifying'.**_

IF had nodded as quick as she possibly could in response to Plutia's 'aura' and words.

It was just that _terrifying._

It was as if Plutia was hiding something extremely sinister within, and she channeled a little of said sinister power when she had given IF the aforementioned instructions.

What even was it?

It felt like all IF could do in its presence was cower in fear, and listen.

How very strange.

IF figured that it was just something that CPUs could do.

'Plick.'

She felt water hit her cheek.

IF looked up, noting one fact:

It was drizzling.

She looked around to find cover from the rain and saw a door, a door that she personally was very acquainted with.

She knew it inside out.

The sounds it made when it was shut slowly.

The sounds that it made when it was slammed to close.

This door was the barrier that separated the harsh, unforgiving world with the tranquil happiness that was her home.

She smiled with nostalgia in mind, not noticing the fact that the rain was beginning to pick up.

' _I'm back, it seems. Wonder what Compa has in store for dinner. Thankfully I made it back before it rained too hard…'_

She grasped the door handle, and opened the door.

As she opened the door, she announced:

"I'm back. What's for dinner?"

Glancing inside the room, IF saw the dining table, all set up with delicious looking food that could no doubt serve three, and Compa, standing on the side with that smile that always seemed to make IF feel so strange and… and...

IF's heart stopped and her face turned red, when she saw what Compa was wearing.

Compa was wearing an apron that was embroidered with hearts.

It was **the** apron that IF had bought Compa for her birthday just a few weeks ago.

Why hadn't she seen her wear it before?

Why was she wearing it now?

Why did she look so good in it?

IF shook her head wildly, and cleared her mind of the thoughts that were all directed to Compa.

' _Okay… IF. This is getting out of hand…Calm yourself. She's just wearing an apron you bought her...It's also not like she's naked, only wearing that apron to invite you to… uh... Or anything…'_

IF blushed even harder.

The thought just made her heart throb harder, and the blood that was meant to be pumped around her body was gathering in her face.

If this kept going on, her nose would probably start to bleed.

She could definitely feel some blood pooling in her nose at that moment.

In an effort to calm herself, she rubbed her nose and patted down her chest where her heart was.

Slowly, her blood began to flow back to where it was supposed to be.

Sighing, she came to another thought:

' _Alright. Time to eat dinner.'_

IF began to walk to the table, swinging her bag to her side.

Compa's smile seemed to shine brighter and brighter as IF walked closer and closer.

Compa began to speak, with that smile that IF just seemed to be unable to get enough of.

"Dinner's ready, Ai-chan! We're having watercress soup with some beef. Also… I bought you a gift!" Compa tilted her head, and spoke with that always-so-sweet tone that IF always felt her heart melting from.

"...A gift? What's the occasion?" IF raised her eyebrow in confusion.

"There's none, Iffy! I just felt like you needed one for your work, so I got you a computer! It's in your room, on the table. Grandpa helped me find someone who sold one!" Compa explained to IF with that smile of hers.

"Where did you even get a computer from? Didn't Planeptune… confiscate all of them?"

IF's brows furrowed in confusion as she thought of how this was possible.

Computers were practically nonexistent in Planeptune due to the Communal Computing Act that Lady Purple Heart herself had enacted upon Planeptune.

How did Compa and Careth even get one?

"Careth brought me to the general district to meet this woman that had silver hair… she looked pretty old too. I think she's a friend of Grandpa!"

IF narrowed her eyes.

Silver hair?

There was only one person in Planeptune that had silver hair… Disregarding Kei, of course.

Careth didn't really count either. His hair was just a typical older man's gray.

Of course, he also wasn't female, so that was out of the question.

The only person she knew that had silver hair, female and looked old…

IF mentally sighed.

Was it the blacksmith whom had taught her four years ago?

And if it really was her, why exactly did she go missing for so long, and all of a sudden, come back to sell Compa a computer?

And out of all the things… a computer…?

And Compa apparently suspected that Careth and the blacksmith were friends…

This answered a lot of questions, like how the blacksmith knew that she had wanted to look for a weapon.

She had told Careth about it earlier in that day, and he told her to search in the general district.

In that 20 minute timeframe of her walking from home to the general district, it was definitely possible for Careth to give the blacksmith a call to inform her about IF's intentions.

If this was true, that also meant that Careth had arranged for her training…

How did he even have such connections?

Despite this revelation answering most of her questions, it gave her another stack of both possibilities and more questions about who both the blacksmith and Careth were.

She didn't even know what the blacksmith's name was, so she was a dead end.

Therefore, she had tried to look up who Careth was some time ago.

As far as IF could read up on Careth's identity, she knew that he was a combat medic that went through the Great Outredimension War.

She even received confirmation from Careth himself two years ago.

There was practically no reason for him to lie, so she figured that his confirmation was of the truth.

After the war, he began to work in the hospital as a general practitioner, diagnosing diseases and prescribing medications for people that came for consultation.

He didn't have a medical specialization as far as she could tell.

However, there were quite a few times that Careth had went on an 'extended vacation', in where he completely disappeared from the premises of Planeptune.

That was rather suspicious.

From what she could tell from Careth's mannerisms and ideals, he didn't like to leave Planeptune for any reason.

Compa's grandmother and Careth got married after the war, but for some unknown reason, IF could never find the marital records and the name of Careth's wife.

Bizarre.

How very bizarre.

This made zero sense.

Why did they not exist?

She decided to dig in deeper into what Careth had told her.

According to Careth once again, they had a son.

So could it be?

Could she find indiscriminative evidence on who Careth was?

She searched and searched within the Basilicom Records.

Nothing.

IF couldn't find any records of Compa's father.

There was nothing to be found in browsing the Basilicom Records at all.

Apparently, according to Careth, his son also got married…

There was nothing once again.

According to the records, they didn't exist.

Was Careth lying to her this entire time?

Was Compa not even the sweet, kind and amazing woman she knew and grew up with?

IF didn't know.

All she had was simple logic and numbers.

Careth was 53 years old. Compa was 19. IF herself was 21 years old this year.

She did some quick calculations.

The war happened approximately 31 years ago.

Careth married straight after the war.

His wife had a child straight after as well.

This child grew up to at least 15-20 years old and married… but judging from Compa's age, they had to be 15 when Compa was born.

Being 15 years old and having a child…

IF could only wonder what it was like.

Once again, from Careth's words:

His son and daughter-in-law had died.

And as far as she asked Compa, she had only seen her parents once, when she was very young.

Compa most likely grew up without her mother and father.

That was why she was so attached to Careth, the single parental figure in her life.

Careth adopted IF when she was 14 years old…

Just thinking about this made her head hurt.

This was an extremely complicated family tree.

It was strange.

Truly, it was strange.

 _It was like as if there was some sort of unsung story, one that she would never learn about._

"Uh… Ai-chan… Are you okay…?"

IF's eyes widened in hearing Compa's voice.

As she came back to reality, she sighed.

She was thinking too hard again.

"I am, Compa. Let's eat dinner first, okay? Where's Careth, anyway?"

"Grandpa's going to be late today… He needs to do some work, I think."

"I see… let's just start without him, shall we?"

Both of them took a seat, facing one another.

They both smiled, before proclaiming in delight:

"Let's eat!"

* * *

The scent of blood and fresh corpses permeated throughout the air.

A barren field.

The thundering sound of rain, the repeated pitter pattering from water striking the ground.

A body struck the ground.

The smoking barrel of a revolver, held by a man with greying hair.

A woman with a black, plain mask that covered her face but not her eyes, scrawled on the ground and dressed in a black cloak, gasping in pain as she held her bullet wound.

The woman struggled in futility, the rain splattering all over her body.

The man holding the revolver smirked, holstering his weapon into his brown leather coat.

"Really now. You thought you could run away? I have to applaud you though for your 'bravery' there. You let your entire squad fall, just so you could escape. Brilliant job, seeing that you failed."

A dozen or so bodies lay around the man, all with blood pooling below and clad in the same black cloak and mask that the incapacitated woman wore.

The cloak was being stained by the woman's blood which slowly seeped out.

In contrast, the man with the greying hair stood clean from any blood at all, the rain washing whatever viscera all off.

The man stared at the woman, before thinking:

' _For the one person hit with a non-lethal paralysis bullet, she sure likes to bleed.'_

The green-eyed woman whom lay on the ground screamed out in unbridled hatred that was directed to the man that stood menacingly before her.

" **W-Who the hell are you?! Ugh…"**

The man smirked, before responding in an overly mocking tone:

"Just an ordinary man who wants to protect his nation. Nothing more, and nothing less."

The man walked closer to his struggling foe, the sound of shoes striking the puddles of water echoing on the barren battlefield as he inched closer and closer to his target.

The man with greying hair crouched down to be on the same level as the woman on the ground.

The woman who lay on the ground choked out blood in response, before attempting to speak once again.

"O-Our reports never told us of someone like you stationed in P-Planeptune…! Who the hell are you…? S-Special F-Forces…? G-Gold Third…?! S-Something else…?!"

The man had his eyes narrowed at the words and terms used by the woman.

"So Lastation knows about the Gold Third. Interesting. We have a rat, it seems… care to tell me who it is? You're about to die anyway..."

The wounded woman coughed yet again, blood dripping from the left of her lip.

She was simply far too frail to have been a regular Lastation saboteur.

Noting this fact, the man thought of the possibilities.

So who exactly was she?

What was her position in Lastation's army?

He supposed it didn't really matter, since she was about to die.

"T-The Empress doesn't need anything l-like that to k-know what you filthy P-Planeptunians are up to…! E-Even if I knew… I wouldn't tell you, s-scum!"

The man chuckled as he listened to the woman's reply, before grinning darkly whilst he spoke.

"Anything to tell me at all…? If not, I'll just kill you, and you can make use of your life insurance ensured by the 'Empress' in the Gamindustri Graveyard."

The man pulled out his revolver from his coat and loaded a blue bullet with a golden casing into the cylinder, before pointing it towards the woman's head.

He placed his thumb upon the hammer to chamber the round slowly.

" _C-Click."_

"N-No…! W-Wait! I-I've got something to tell you…! D-Don't kill m-me!"

The bleeding woman begged.

With the gun still pointed at the woman's head and a bored look on his face, he tilted his head and questioned:

"Yes?"

"L-Lady B-Black Sister is p-preparing an attack on P-Planeptune… next…T-Thursday…!"

The man smirked upon hearing the woman's words, knowing that he had succeeded on a certain part of his agenda.

Yet, Careth felt something was off.

For a leader of the supposedly fanatic followers of Lastation, she certainly gave away information too quickly.

There was still something much more pressing left, however.

"What is the target?"

"I-I…"

"Did you hear what I said? What is Black Sister targeting?"

"I…!"

Careth pushed the revolver into the woman's face.

"I don't like to repeat myself, **so I'll ask this one last time.** What. Is. Black. Sister. **Targeting**?"

"I d-don't know…! I-I swear…!"

" _Click."_

The man's finger was on the trigger.

The woman stared at the revolver in utter shock and despair.

"Then I have no more use for you."

"N-No…! B-But I told yo-"

Time seemed to stop as Careth stared at the woman.

Her eyes.

 **Her eyes.**

They were too familiar to him.

For the first time in a long while, he felt hesitation.

He felt doubt.

"What is your name? Who were the others?"

Careth holstered his gun once again.

"What?"

The woman replied in confusion, whilst looking away in relief.

"I want to know the names of the people that I've killed."

The still paralyzed woman looked back and sneered at Careth.

"What does that matter to you? We're just a bunch of psychopathic fanatics in your eyes."

Careth sighed.

"They had families. Whomever they were, their families will cry over their deaths."

Careth unfolded a combat spade from his coat and began digging.

"We have no names. Their dogtags have their agent number, but all of us lost our names long ago."

"Is that so? How peculiar… The Lastation I once knew truly doesn't exist anymore it seems."

He continued to dig a hole at an impressive speed.

He turned back once again, staring at the woman who laid on the ground, whom was still unable to move due to her incomprehensible pain.

"What was your relation to them? I killed them, but you aren't acting like I just murdered your comrades."

"I have no personal attachment to others: my attachment belongs only to The Empress and True Goddess incarnate."

The woman replied, albeit hesitantly.

Careth stepped out of the sizeable hole, folding the shovel back into his leather coat as he did.

He walked over to the nearest corpse, stripped it of its dogtag, and threw it into the dugout cavity.

"What are you doing?"

Careth stared at the woman for a second with a blank look, before turning back to continue with what he was doing.

"Giving them a burial."

"Why are you doing this?"

A grim smile formed on his face in response.

"I'm still human. Only monsters don't bury their enemies."

He silently placed the rest into the muddy hole, then tossed soaked dirt back on them. The woman remained silent, contemplating.

He took one of the fallen Lastationer rifles, jammed it into the ground behind the mound, and tied the dogtags to it as a makeshift headstone. It immediately tilted over, but it seemed stable enough to not completely fall over.

"You forgot to bury one of them. Getting so old that you forgot?"

The woman snidely remarked, before looking away in fright as if the words that she had just spoke aloud had sealed her fate of death.

Once again, Careth noted this.

He reckoned that she probably hadn't thought before speaking aloud.

Cross-referencing this fact with people he knew, he figured that this woman was just pretty rash overall.

"Do you really think death is the worst thing that can happen to you?"

Careth walked from the makeshift grave back to the last Lastation agent.

"You could've tried to detonate your suicide vest. Of course, I've disabled it already, but you _didn't even bother to try_. Why?"

Once again, he looked at her eyes.

Those _damn_ eyes.

"You're different. You have something other than your Empress that you live to fight for. I'm not going to ask..."

He paused to take a look at the woman's eyes.

As terrified as they were now, those green eyes were too familiar.

Too familiar.

Despite his mind telling him to just kill her now and be done with it, he relented.

His gut and instincts told him that this was the right thing to do.

"You desperately want to live, don't you? I'll grant you this wish. Take a nap for me, will you?"

He loaded a specialized bullet that he acquired from a time before, and cycled the revolver once again with his thumb on the hammer.

' **BANG!'**

He fired the round.

Careth's ear twitched from the deafening pain.

Smoke burst out from the barrel once more.

'Clink… clink...'

A single golden shell casing fell to the ground.

Trails of smoke faded slowly.

The woman lay unconscious in the soft, wet ground in blissful peace and ignorance.

It was like as if she hadn't been in a life-threatening situation just a few seconds ago.

As Careth stared at the unmoving body, he sighed.

"Damn it. I'm getting soft."

Fusil was not going to be happy he had taken a prisoner, even if she could milk her for intelligence.

Requesting that she use her purple 'torture devices' on anyone always cost him favors.

"I guess I really am out of practice. Lastation has really changed..."

He had heard over the years that Black Heart had done a lot to keep Lastationers loyal to her insane cause.

Since he had heard most of it over the grapevine, he figured that most of it was just exaggerations.

But however, with this one mission, he knew that every single claim was true.

Every single person he had just buried had proven this.

He took a breath to calm himself, his heart beating wildly due to this being the first time he had done a mission in a very long time.

Smiling a little, he continued what he wanted to say to himself:

"Heck, I'm pretty sure some love her to death. How freakish. Thank damn for Kei, that manipulative fox. We wouldn't have gotten this intel otherwise."

Taking a brief look at the unconscious squad leader, the old man smirked at what he had done.

"Well, guess I still haven't lost my 'rebellious' streak. Orders are never orders to me, they're guidelines: Ones I can follow with no questions asked, or the ones I can twist to work for me."

He sighed while holstering his revolver, before producing a black flip phone from his inner coat pocket.

The rain splattered on the phone from above, but the man gave it no heed.

Flipping it open, he pushed a few numbers before tapping on the 'dial' button.

Careth raised the phone up to his ear.

" _Beep. Beep."_

" _Click!"_

A noticeably mature and rough female voice was heard from the other end.

"Have the crows fallen from their nest?"

Careth clicked his tongue, thinking of a proper response before speaking in turn.

He deliberately answered in the tone of a formal soldier, but he knew that neither himself nor the woman on the other end cared.

"I've caged the _mother_ , and the rest are down. I'm calling in the favors you owe me to take care of her. The rain will take care of the clean up here, so it doesn't need a _janitor_. I've also heard some interesting things from the _crows_ as well."

"Hm… you really are burning through all those favors I owe you, you know? Are you worried about not cashing them in before you go senile?"

Even without a visual indicator, he could tell the person on the other side was smirking.

Too tired to entertain her, Careth refused to respond until she continued with the mission summary.

"Anyway, what did you hear from the _crows_?"

"Their _mother_ somehow knows of the **suns that lurk in the sky**. We most likely have a **scamper** , or this _mother_ is some special oddity in their ranks. Also, **Operation #925** that we heard about from the other crows over these few years is happening next week on Thursday. We still don't know what the target is… damn."

"Hmm. This is worrying… But now we at least have a date. Thank you for your work. We have narrowed down the possible targets thanks to the info we harvested a day ago…" The lady on the other side trailed off.

"The _mother_ is out cold, and there's no sign of getting her to be conscious before the attack," Careth glanced at the unconscious agent, before continuing:

"This is really worrying, though. What kind of operation requires almost 2 years of preparation? What is Black Sister trying to accomplish?"

"We still have no clue. Unfortunate, but we will have to make do as always. I will give you a debriefing to tell you about their possible targets later,"

The lady pondered for a long moment, before continuing.

"You're as impressive as always, finding and neutralizing all 15 of them in just under 32 minutes despite having only the barest of information. How you even found them within 5 minutes just after accepting the mission baffles me. Also, you used _that_ bullet, didn't you?" The woman paused to wait for Careth's answer.

Careth grinned in response, and replied impudently with a mock-childish tone.

"What do you think?"

The woman then continued with a sigh, the sound of a palm softly striking someone's face being heard over the phone.

"...Cheeky. Eh, whatever. This crow nest has been troubling us for 2 months now, and you've handled the situation perfectly. Get back here so I can ' _take care'_ of the _mother_ as soon as possible, Careth."

Careth smiled, even though he knew that the woman on the other end couldn't see it.

"Understood. I'll head back ASAP, Fusil. Be gentle with her, okay? I have my fair share of questions for her."

A small pause.

"...Noted, you damn killjoy. Bye."

" _Click."_

The woman hung up from the call.

"Always as serious as ever, huh…? Seems like she hasn't changed. But now… I can't…"

Careth pocketed his phone for the moment.

"I can't hide from IF and Compa anymore. I have to tell them everything. The day is coming closer and closer…"

Careth sighed whilst clenching his hand, knowing what he kept secret was coming back to bite him in the rear.

He shook that thought out of his mind. There was still the unconscious agent laying in the mud in front of him.

He hoisted her up on his back, and began walking.

"Oomph. There we go."

For some strange reason, he couldn't help but feel like he had carried this certain petite body on his back before.

He hadn't seen the face of the cloaked woman since she was fitted with a special mask that could only be taken off when the user wanted it.

Forcing it off would mean tearing off her face. That was just unnecessarily cruel, and out of the question.

She also reminded him of someone he knew.

Someone… like IF.

Speaking of which, he did need to send her a message.

' _In any case,'_ he thought: ' _The road to the bar should be deserted in this downpour.'_

As he walked, he used his free arm to take out his phone.

He searched for the 'messaging' option.

Finding it after a bit, he brushed his finger over it to send a message to a certain somebody.

'Iffy', the screen spelled out.

He began to type out his message.

' _Sorry, Iffy. I can't come back home today. I'll be back tomorrow._

 _It's almost time… The day is coming closer and closer._

 _Tell Compa that I said that_ ' _ **it'**_ _is going to happen soon._

 _I'll see you tomorrow.'_

He pressed the 'enter' button with a sad smile.

Flipping his phone back close and placing it back into his coat pocket, he turned around with his head facing down, unproud of what he had done.

With a grim look, he turned from the field.

He turned his back on the dead that he had ruthlessly murdered.

He had come back to this old life again.

Looking up, he sighed once more as he walked.

He felt water trickle down his face.

The rain turned from a pour,

Into a torrential wave.

* * *

"Alright, Iffy! I'll get back to my work. Have fun with your new computer!"

"Thanks, Compa. I'll make sure to enjoy it."

Compa waved at IF whom was seated down at the table as a mock-goodbye, and shut the door behind her jovially.

Whilst smiling softly at Compa's antics, IF sat silently on the old wooden chair that supported her surprisingly well despite its condition. She thought about the machine that sat on the table in front of her.

It was extremely rare to see a full desktop computer or laptop in Planeptune nowadays. Most of them were in the hands of the Basilicom.

As Planeptune's position amongst the other nations fell and tough times fell upon the nation, it became prohibitively expensive for any individual person, and then gradually, for even a family to afford a computer.

In reaction to the fear of the next generation growing up without much access to electronic computing power, the Basilicom requisitioned nearly every personal computer in the nation, and then jury-rigged them through some sort of grid-computing into essentially a supercomputer. They then distributed 'cell phones' to the populace.

However, instead of having actual processing capabilities of their own, the 'phones' were all using the national supercomputer's processing power through 'time-sharing'.

Hence, the 'phones' were more like mere screens and input devices, so-called 'thin clients'.

Still, this effectively meant that everyone could have a phone that generally got the job done, and could even play the simple mobile game.

There was a dramatic drop in computing power compared to a personal computer, but given their lack of choice, it was one of the better options the Basilicom could have taken.

However, the patchwork supercomputer's processing power was receiving no upgrades from the underfunded Basilicom.

Consequently, the constant and limited amount of processing power combined with the timesharing system meant that as more people used their phones, the more the processing power was divided between them. In turn, this meant that each person received less processing power, slowing things down.

Inevitably, there would be a need for quotas and restrictions on phone usage, and although it had not happened yet, it was a constant worry.

In any case, this laptop was apparently bought solely for IF. Careth and Compa didn't need it for their work at the hospital.

IF was curious about the laptop, but knew its general controls reasonably well from simply using her smartphone. Power button, keyboard, a touchpad or a small mouse instead of a touch screen: these things were pretty intuitive in her opinion.

And interestingly enough, the computer had a full-bar internet connection despite there being no internet infrastructure in Planeptune other than the supercomputer's 'connections'.

But what actually mystified IF despite all of this was the headset that came with the laptop. It looked like some sort of sleek wireless goggles, and came with a similarly wireless gaming console controller.

The controller was emblazoned with a small X in the middle. Closer inspection on the laptop also revealed a small sticker, "Made in Leanbox".

' _The people of Leanbox must be big on using their personal computers for gaming,'_

IF thought to herself silently.

' _Yet the laptop's origin from Leanbox only raises more questions about who Careth and the blacksmith are…'_

She sighed in indignation.

Deciding that she shouldn't just stare at the computer's exterior, she pressed the power button.

A small tune played, and with that, a logo flashed onto the screen.

' _Berusoft Windows'_ , it displayed.

After a brief animation with the four different colored rectangles as the centerpiece and logo, it faded to black and in just a few seconds, IF was greeted by the desktop.

' _That was fast… but... huh? Don't I need to create an account first?_ '

IF looked at the desktop, and noticed that there were already some programs installed.

' _I see. I guess Compa and Careth already got some of the groundwork set up for me… eh? What's that…?'_

One of the programs on the desktop caught her eye with its name and flashy icon.

' _I'll set up my account and think of a password later. I really want to check this one out.'_

IF double clicked on the program's shortcut icon with the small mouse that the computer had been set up with.

A message appeared on the screen: "Please wear the Full Dive Virtual Reality Headset".

IF fiddled with the 'goggles' for a bit and put them on, a confused look taking ahold of her face.

' _What the… Well, I'd best listen and give it a try then.'_

After putting the headset on, she heard a female voice that had a noticeable accent that sounded a lot more… refined than what she was used to.

"Full Dive Virtual Reality Headset has been detected as equipped. Activating..."

No matter what IF could try to say in her defence, she was completely unprepared for what was to come.

She did think that she had missed something, however.

A soft vibration was felt within her coat.

Whatever it was, it didn't matter now to her.

She felt the wind blow past her ears.

She saw everything that was around her fade.

With that, her senses faded to another.

She began to fall into another world.

* * *

"Four Goddesses Online, Two!" Some cheerful announcer voice sounded off as IF floated in midair.

The game's title appeared in the sky, along with a menu of options.

Continue

Load Character

New Character

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' _Continue? Is there someone's old account still tied to this computer?'_

IF contemplated for a moment.

' _Well, I might as well give it a shot. It's not like I have anything to lose.'_

"Welcome back, Ai-chan! Beginning your adventure!" The cheery announcer voice proclaimed.

' _Ai-chan? How the heck did they know my nickname!?'_

 _Logging in…_

 _Connecting to the Leanbox Main Server(0.003ms)…_

 _Loading Prologue Sequence..._

 _Since time immemorial, there have been four nations, ruled by the four goddesses._

 _These goddesses were known as CPUs, and they ruled over their nations and lead them to prosperity._

 _Purple Heart of Planeptune, Black Heart of Lastation, White Heart of Lowee, and finally: Green Heart of Leanbox._

 _Yet, selfish rivalries between them led to a series of wars between them._

 _These wars were known as 'The Console Wars"._

 _This is where our story begins._

* * *

"Ai-chan has logged in! (Last online 15 years ago)"

"Oh? What an interesting development. Ran-Ran, I'm going to spend some time with this person. I'm sure you'll be able to handle all the guild emergency quests yourself, okay?"

"Aww… understood, Lady Vert…"

* * *

"Welcome to Noob Island!"

IF was greeted by the announcer girl yet again. This time, however, she got to see the face of this NPC.

It appeared to just be a Basilicom worker. When IF stared directly at the character, the title "Tutorial NPC" floated above her head. Despite being heavily robed in some sort of purple garments, she waved for IF to go over to her.

"Welcome to the world of 4GO2! It appears that you haven't logged in for a very long time, so we've teleported you back to this tutorial zone! Would you like a refresher on how to play the game?"

"Yes. Actually I'm completely new—"

"Here you go! For someone of your calibre, this Triple AAA ranked dragon should be a piece of cake!"

IF did a spit take.

"Wait, what!?"

Beside the NPC materialized a Nidhogg.

"Good luck! Keep in mind that as an NPC, I cannot be harmed. This is a prerecorded message. Since this refresher scales with your level, you should have no problem at all!"

Did the NPC just stick her tongue out at IF?

IF's eye twitched.

" **ROARRR!"**

The Nidhogg swiped quickly at IF with astounding force.

The air around the claw distorted from the sheer strength the monster had.

' _Damn it!'_

Instinctively, IF rolled away from the swipe of the monster's claw.

"Better focus on the fight. I don't want to die on a tutorial, after all. It'd be embarrassing."

IF tried to pull out her Qatars from her sleeves. Unfortunately, they weren't there.

She dodged another swipe from the enemy.

Her focused look turned to one of sheer panic, due to the absence of her beloved and trusted weapons.

' _Shit! Do I even have any weapons on me at all?'_

Patting herself down to search for a weapon as she dodged from side-to-side with astounding dexterity, she finally felt something strapped to her thigh.

"A handgun? Not my first choice of a weapon, but well, it'll have to do!"

IF quickly drew the pistol from her side.

It was rather large for a handgun, and its massive silver frame was clearly made for intimidation rather than concealment.

If she remembered correctly from Careth's manic firearm rant, this gun was known as the Deagle… a highly impractical weapon.

It didn't matter now, however.

She had to use it.

With a certain level of natural skill, she aimed down the sights.

She hadn't noticed until now, but it felt like there was some sort of natural heads up display that highlighted the weak points of the enemy.

" **AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

IF shot the dragon with her magically infused .50AE caliber rounds.

Even though her stance and aim were spot on from a combination of natural skill, observing Careth, and the character's maxed pistol mastery, it was still IF's first time shooting.

Thus, she appropriately screamed in a mix of panic and desperation as she fought for her life using the unfamiliar weapon.

The bullets hit their mark, and the beast fell from her single volley.

IF panted, her knees weak and shaking from the utter anxiety of being demanded to fight for her life on such a short notice.

She looked at her hands. They were dripping with sweat. She wiped off the gun's handle with her coat sleeve, and holstered it back to where it belonged.

' _This game is a little too intense for me. Maybe I should sign out.'_

" _Ding!"_

Upon hearing the notification tone, IF's thought process was interrupted.

She looked up, expecting to see the Basilicom Tutorial NPC.

Instead, a tall, blonde woman with deep, azure eyes stood before her. The lady's bosom was more than well endowed, and she was clad in an interestingly designed green dress.

"My apologies for that erratic NPC. It has been quite some time since anyone has come to the Planeptune tutorial zone, to the point where it hasn't been updated in a great deal of time. Since that is the case, I will personally give you a tutorial!"

The blonde lady gave IF a bright smile, before bouncing her ample bosom.

IF was briefly mesmerized as her eyes followed the two staggering mountains as they bounced together.

She shook her head.

This wasn't real.

Clearly, no real human could have such vast… mounds.

This was most likely just a hotfix NPC or something.

"My name is Beru, what is yours?" The now named Beru interrupted IF's thoughts.

In a fit of surprise, and her tiredness from dealing with the threat earlier, IF choked out her words.

"-Oh! I'm... IF."

"IF? That sounds too formal. How about… I call you Iffy? My cute, adorable little Iffy!"

IF was surprised to find her face buried in a pair of warm mounds, and her oxygen supply was quickly running out.

"Mmph!"

While IF would have definitely loved to enjoy the experience. she also valued not suffocating.

"Oh, my apologies! I couldn't resisting hugging my cute Iffy. Let's get on with the tutorial, shall we?"

' _There's no way that she's a NPC. She must be a game master or something then.'_

"You seem to have taken some damage from your panic attack in the battle. Take this health potion to restore your health points."

Beru produced a glass bottle of red liquid, and gave it to IF. IF gave both the bottle and the lady a suspicious glare, but relented and removed the stopper, giving it a chug.

As the liquid flowed down her throat, her eyes widened.

' _I actually feel better now… wow. What the heck is in that thing?'_

"Since you already have the upgraded scouter and HUD, you can see your health bar going up. Though, it seems you have left it turned off from your last session."

Beru walked up to IF, tapped above her ear.

Instantly, a small digitalized monocle of sorts appeared, showing IF all kinds of game information.

"There you go! Everyone has a basic HUD and scouter, but your upgraded one should tell you more about the enemies, such as their weak points, loot drops, and the like."

A dogoo bounced over next to Beru.

"Here, test out your scouter on the friendly neighborhood dogoo!"

IF stared at the Dogoo intently through her scouter lens.

" _Mr. Dogoo"._

 _Level 1 Dogoo._

 _HP: 10/10._

 _Weak Points: None._

 _Drops: Squishy Liquid._

 _Faction: Friendly._

 _Low Danger._

IF turned to look back at the blonde lady, whom nodded with a smile.

"As you can see, not all 'monsters' are hostile. Sometimes it is better to live and let live."

The Dogoo bounced away in a both happy and carefree manner.

"You can also try the scouter out on other player characters, but we don't have any applicable targets at the moment."

Not heeding Beru, IF attempted to analyse the blonde lady.

 _Vert 'Green Heart'._

 _Level ? Goddess._

 _HP: Overflow._

 _Weakpoints: Heart goes doki doki for adorable Ai._

 _Danger: Overflow._

IF's scouter fizzed out after scanning Beru. IF wasn't sure to trust the scouter's assessment on Beru, since it was probably just a malfunction from scanning a game master.

Noticing the scouter's failure, the blonde lady softly giggled whilst she moved her thumb to her chin.

"I told you not to try and scan me. Your scouter will fix itself in a bit. Until then, you will be unable to sign out. Let's finish the tutorial so I can show you the wonders of this game~"

* * *

Screens flashed by, and IF could barely keep up.

The blonde lady explained on and on:

"This is how you equip weapons!"

"This is how you manage your inventory and personal bank!"

"This is how you change your cosmetic items!"

"This is how you check your notifications and private messages!"

"This is how you trade on the marketplace!"

Honestly, IF was surprised that she managed to understand most of it.

After a while, the lady finally stopped.

* * *

IF and Beru made their way to the center of Noob Island. On top of a hill stood a dusty hall, that had not been touched in many years.

"This is the Planeptune faction's hall. It's been a long time since anyone from Planeptune signed in, so it is in this dusty state. Still, I've kept it from completely breaking down, and it is still functional as the link between the beginner area and all the other areas of the game. It kind of sits in its own dimensional space, acting as the hub for your faction, and…"

Beru rambled on about various game mechanics and events.

"Anyway, if you step out of this door, you'll be in the main city."

Beru took hold of IF's hand and pulled her along outside.

Merely walking through the faction hall had brought IF and Beru out from the quiet solitude of the beginner zone into the busy streets of the main city.

As they stepped outside, IF felt Beru cast some sort of spell on them both.

"Since we're here, we should pay a visit to my Basilico— er, my personal guild hall. It's right next door."

Beru held IF's hand in a jovial manner as she happily walked down the road.

' _Beru seems awfully happy just to spend time with me. Not that it's a bad thing. She seems to be a nice person. I just don't understand why she's going so far out of her way for me.'_

They entered a guild hall that looked awfully like Planeptune's Basilicom, only that instead of purple used as the main color, a royal green now replaced it.

' _Strange. Let's take a look around… This just further proves my theory on Beru being Green Heart, to be honest.'_

Inside, there were many guild members hanging out. The walls were strewn with figurines, collections of manga, Purple-Ray anime discs, and the odd in-game boss trophy. On one corner, there was a group screening of some anime. Elsewhere, there was a planning table and a digital plaque detailing the battles and victories of the guild, and the members that participated.

"The main hall is very busy just like always, but having such a lively group of fellow enthusiasts isn't all that bad."

Beru led IF into a private room in the back. Beru opened the door and walked the both of them in. As Beru turned on the lights, the door locked shut.

"This is my private Guild Master's room. We don't have to be under the spell of invisibility in here, since no one can enter without my permission."

Beru looked around the room, as if looking for something.

"It seems that I forgot to bring in any chairs. Please feel free to take a seat on my bed."

Having been dragged through the entire exhausting tutorial at an accelerated pace, IF couldn't help but instantly collapse on the soft bed.

"You poor thing… If you were this tired, I could have given you a break."

Beru took a seat on the bed beside IF, and gently lifted the petite brunette's head onto her lap.

Beru then proceeded to gently stroke IF's hair.

"As you may have guessed, I am Vert. Lady Green Heart of Leanbox."

IF began to rest her tired eyes. Vert's presence was simply calming.

"The former holder of your account was a close friend of mine. So, I want you to know that I'm here for you."

A small pause.

"But I have also taken a personal interest in you. Brave yet human, cute yet serious… You have this goddess' undivided attention."

A warm glow caused IF to open her eyes. She gazed upwards into the longing, lush blue eyes of the goddess that stared back with an alarming intensity.

"So, will you accept my request to spend time together? To get to know each other better? To be together, through good times and bad?"

Tired from the exhausting day, whilst completely mesmerized and enchanted by the goddess's eyes, IF slowly nodded.

"I do."

IF then fell over asleep.

A ring materialized on both Vert and IF's fourth finger.

*Ai-chan has logged out.*

* * *

" _Creak…"_

Compa slowly opened the door, and walked into IF's room.

' _I wonder if Iffy's okay.'_

Compa walked over to IF, who was slumped over in her chair murmuring something softly.

' _She must have been incredibly tired and passed out. I should put her in bed.'_

Compa lifted her cute 'sister' up and placed her on the bed.

Despite trying her hardest to pry open IF's death grip from the controller, Compa couldn't get IF to let go.

She also decided against prying off the goggles since they specifically warned against taking them off whilst the player was using them.

' _Still, Iffy's so cute when she's sleeping...'_

Compa couldn't resist giving her beloved IF a lap pillow on the bed.

She softly patted IF's head.

"I love you, Iffy." Compa spoke softly to the barely conscious IF.

Compa continued to stroke IF's soft brown hair, before realizing what she had said, blushing wildly at the words she had spoken.

She flinched in her realization.

"Wuh...I-I…!"

Compa thought that she was already going too far just by saying that, but…

She had already begun, so why not go all the way?

"I-I've never had the courage to say it, but I've always wanted to be more than just friends or 'sisters' with you, Iffy."

Compa stopped massaging IF for a moment.

Compa reminisced about their lives so far together.

The high and lows, the Unison Carnival, the day that they met...

"It's kind of silly, since we're both girls, but I… love you. Not as a sister… but… well… Never mind. Do you feel the same way, Iffy?"

A brief moment of silence was shared between the two.

IF's mouth opened to speak, albeit dazedly:

"I do..."

IF murmured softly as the goggles lost power slowly, whirring down as it did.

Compa took the goggles off IF's face and controller out of her hands, placing them on her side.

Her eyes teared with joy.

' _Thank you,'_ Compa smiled softly. ' _Thank you… Ai-chan.'_

As Compa thought those few words, a smile formed on the face of the sleeping IF.

' _She's smiling…'_

With that thought, she made a promise to both herself and IF.

A promise that she would keep no matter what.

With a look of resolve and determination, she declared:

'"I'll love you forever and ever, Ai-chan. You can count on it!"


	11. Chapter 11- Past: Calmness

_4 days ago, before Careth rejoined the E-PBSF._

"Histoire!"

Histoire languidly raised her head, and looked next to her, where Neptune sat.

"...What is it, Neptune?"

Neptune sighed.

"We've still got a lot of things to do… but…"

Histoire stared silently at her table and the metropolis of papers on it, before looking back at Neptune and wondering what the purple haired goddess was going to say.

"Hmm…?"

"Could you grab some paper for me? It's time to write another letter, and it's also time to ship some things to _them_. They haven't had a supply drop in two years, and I think that it's about time they get some rewards for their efforts."

"...Who?"

Neptune gave a small, sombre grin.

"The E-PBSF. The Elite Planeptune Basilicom Special Forces. Don't you remember? It's the division that Kei has been taking care of for the longest time now. Made of Planeptune's finest fighters, they are our secret military group assigned for tasks like no other."

"Ah… Yes, I suppose it's about time. Here's their file," Histoire pulled a red file out of nowhere, "… Kei updated it earlier, so I had it on hand."

"Hmm? Do we have a new member?"

Histoire shook her head.

"No, it's an old one. Kei said that he would come out of retirement to 'protect' someone, if I remember correctly from her report."

Opening the file and looking over the newest entry's name, Neptune sighed once more.

"...Careth Coeur… Oh, I know why…"

Histoire raised her eyebrow.

"You know who he is?"

"I only know a bit, but I technically know of his granddaughters since I've sort-of kind-of met them before. And if my hunch is right–"

' _He doesn't want them to be a part of the E-PBSF. You're too sly, Kei. Threatening him to join back to protect his granddaughters… Sometimes the stuff you do makes it hard to trust you… But I guess I'll give this guy, judging from this file, a little special treatment — He deserves it.'_

"What was that about your hunch?"

Neptune quickly looked back up from the file, closed it with a resounding noise, and stared back at Histoire.

"—Nothing. Get me the phone. I want to talk to Vert. I'll get the transferral template," Neptune pondered for a while, before continuing. "Also, I'll get the weapons-department ready for some customs, and see if they're ready to make some _pre-war_ and _post-war_ weapons; I'm setting up a shipment to be sent to the E-PBSF."

"...I understand, Neptune. I'll go get a line to Leanbox."

Neptune placed the file back on the table, stood up, and walked away.

Histoire glanced over the file, as she prepped the phone.

Careth Coeur

Age: 53 [Enlisted Age: 19]

Sex: Male

Father: Unknown(Deceased: OD War)

[Unavailable information]

Mother: Unknown(Deceased: OD War)

[Unavailable information]

Wife: Amarante Coeur [Deceased: Incurable Disease]

Son: Feu Coeur [Deceased: **REDACTED]**

Daughter-in-Law: Lavende Coeur [Deceased: **REDACTED]**

Granddaughter: Compa Coeur [Age: 19]

Adopted Granddaughter: IF Coeur [Age: 20]

(Note: IF is likely the daughter of missing E-PBSF operatives, Ai and Fabrique.)

[Note: They are considered K.I.A., but bodies and dog-tags were never found.]

Equipment: Customized Nagant M1895 Revolver in Modified .44 Cal.

(Can be silenced)

Customized bullets that have different properties, Bayonet.

[Other equipment is unknown, but the last mission he undertook had him with steel wire, on-field painkillers and et cetera.]

Summary:

Served in the Great Outredimension War as a combat medic, but despite that, had an extraordinary kill count of around 400 ASIC soldiers. Has only one 'failure' in first-aid treatment during the war and after. Joined the E-PBSF after the war via recruitment from

 **[Code-Named 'Fusil'- 'Former [REDACTED]'. Also known as 'The Remedy'.]**.

Extremely versatile in combat, quick-thinker. Above average intelligence. Can fire 7 rounds from revolver in approximately 2 seconds. Steel wire is used in tandem with pitfalls to slice adversaries apart. Has other practical purposes with other traps and on-field. Skill with bayonet is above average.

Makes heavy use of traps and revolver to fight. No long-range capability or mass destruction capability. Has experience riding and fighting on horsebirds. Test pilot for experimental [now abandoned] "aeroplane" project.

Does not appear to have magic reserves. Relies on physical and mental ability.

Optimal Engagement Range: ~80 metres.

Maximum Engagement Range: ~200 metres.

Undoubtable loyalty to Planeptune.

Doubtable mental stability due to war

and excessive missions.

[Extent is unknown.]

95% Mission Completion Rate.

2% Squad Mortality Rate.

 _[EDIT: - 31 years ago] Via observations, it seems that he is able to predict where enemies can and will move to after a few seconds of watching the target. It makes him a very deadly adversary to fight against, since he can fire his revolver very quickly and accurately, whilst being able to keep track of the enemy. Accuracy is maintained even when somewhat dazed. Traps set by him are also much more deadly and efficient due to this. However, it is not a 'sixth-sense' or 'instinct'. This ability is a combination of observation and discernation._

 _[NEW - 7 years ago] Has two granddaughters, Compa Coeur and IF Coeur. Latter is adopted, and has been recently uncovered to be the daughter of deceased E-PBSF members._

 _Both IF and Compa have files under their names, they are prospective recruits._

 _Recommended by Kei._

 _[EDIT:] Files have been archived. Operative Careth intends to move them to Leanbox._

 _ **(Kei's note: I suggest that we allow it. He will keep fighting and remain loyal to Planeptune so long as those two are safe. If not, he'll most likely go rogue and commit suicide. They're practically his reason to keep living and fighting. I suspect that forcing them into service will lead to Careth's "Divine Wind" and the unaffordable destruction of vital Planeptune localities, including potentially the Planeptower itself. We can also keep track of the granddaughters via the 'dream catcher' that Careth and Eau gave the two a year or two back. It's extremely resistant, so it won't be destroyed easily. It does 'choose' its bearers carefully, after all.)**_

\- Sources: Lowee Operative Disaster: Operation #574, Operation #579-603,

Outredimension War-Records.

[End Report]

Histoire raised her eyebrow in surprise when she finished reading.

Didn't Kei talk about this guy as well?

And _that woman_ personally recruited this person?

Histoire sighed.

That _woman_ … seriously.

She might've be a friend of Histoire's since time immemorial, and she was also thankful that she was back, but sometimes she did… _questionable_ things.

Thankfully, Neptune had no idea who she was…

If she did, something terrifying would happen, or possibly, nothing.

At this point, Histoire couldn't predict how Neptune would react.

Of course, Fusil kept transforming into an old woman in order to hide her identity in the first place, so it was largely a moot point.

Histoire brought her mind back to what she was doing.

' _Well… let's see… Ah... She's not answering.'_

Vert did not seem to want to answer the phone today.

' _How inconvenient…-ah?!'_

Histoire jumped in small fright as she felt a hand grasp her shoulder.

"I'm back. Let's think about what we should give them."

Histoire looked back at Neptune, who held a piece of paper. A smile was taking ahold of the small goddess's face.

Smiling weakly in response, Histoire replied:

"Let's get to it. We need to repay them for their work."

Neptune nodded in response. Her shining smile persisted.

Whether it was real or not, Histoire couldn't tell.

These days, she couldn't discern what Neptune was feeling.

Happiness? Sadness? Despair?

Back in the days of peace, she knew exactly what was going on with Neptune.

Now, she hid everything from her.

Histoire knew Neptune was suffering inside, but she knew she couldn't do anything about it.

It was just how it was now— wait, she needed to listen.

Histoire brought her attention back to Neptune, who was now beginning to speak with a small smile on her face.

"It's a little nice. They don't ask for the best weapons possible, but rather what they're comfortable with. Thankfully, that isn't much. Their budget has been unused for quite some time, so I think despite the fact that we don't need to spend too much, let's add a few little things here and there for them."

Histoire stared blankly at Neptune, knowing that she was trying to lighten the foreboding mood that was always prevalent in the Basilicom.

 **'Ring!'**

Neptune raised her eyebrow in silence, whereas Histoire softly smiled.

"Ah, she called back. Let's get this started."

* * *

' _Ah. There we go. We're back, in record time, no less.'_

After what seemed like an eternity, he had finally reached his destination.

He forced the undecorated wooden door open with a grunt, and a jovial, high-pitched voice greeted him from behind the bar table.

"Heyoo! Welcome back, old man!"

Nodding as a greeting, he motioned to his back as a signal. The old soldier then spoke in a raspy tone, as a testament to his tiredness.

"Oh, B. How's it going?"

During the many times that Careth had come here to drink, B-Sha and Careth had talked for a bit and got to know each other. Careth had also been given time to get acquainted with his soon-to-be teammate before proceeding with his latest mission.

They got along quite well, despite the vast age difference.

They were comfortable with calling each other friends, and had given each other nicknames.

Careth referred to B-Sha as 'B', and B-Sha referred to him as 'Old man'.

Honestly, Careth could see quite a bit of IF in B-Sha... no, he definitely shouldn't think about it that way. B-Sha was her own person, and IF was also her own.

With that all in his mind, he studied B-Sha's expressions.

She seemed to be confused for a moment, staring at the body that Careth was carrying, before a look of realization took hold.

"That's our 'prisoner', right? Fusil already told me about it!"

Careth raised his eyebrow, deciding to process what B-Sha had said.

' _...Did she just say that with a straight face…? I severely underestimated her. Then again, she's part of Gold Third. I should've expected that.'_

He sighed, and began to think about the Gold Third.

The Gold Third was a division of the Planeptune Basilicom Special Forces that was shrouded in secrecy. Only people in the E-PBSF knew about it.

Careth hadn't been around in the E-PBSF for quite some time, but he was around enough to know of its existence. In fact, he was pretty sure that he indirectly facilitated their growth via the small favors that Fusil had asked of him.

The Gold Third was a Mass Destruction Squad, one that had its members scouted and trained from their youth.

If Lady Purple Heart decided to unleash them upon any nation, they would most likely destroy a large portion of it. But obviously, Careth knew that Lady Purple Heart wouldn't do such a thing.

After all, Lady Purple Heart was the person that wanted peace the most.

Yet, with Lady Purple Heart's demeanour in mind, there was something interesting about the Gold Third…

The main reason behind their formation and creation was an experiment, birthed from a concept that had been inspired by Lowee.

Back when Lowee was still peaceful, and not the hostile militarist state of today, they had something known as 'Heaven's Luck'.

It was a play on the name of a certain company that had helped produce and design the gaming hardware of Lowee, but that wasn't important.

'Heaven's Luck' was a training programme in which Lowee would randomly pick several mages from the nation to receive training. It was basically the highest honor of sorts, and whomever came out of that training would come out as a master of the craft.

It was an extremely peculiar concept, yet Lowee somehow made it work.

When Purple Heart had found out about it following the breakup between the nations, she decided to get the elite-PBSF members to train a few kids that she had scouted out.

The result of that training was a force to be reckoned with: the Gold Third. Their fearsome powers meant they had been kept top secret, privy essentially only to the people whom had trained them. Careth only really knew of them in the first place since B-Sha was one of them.

He did have some knowledge of who the current official members were. Knowing two of the members personally, they were most likely both in the bar at the moment. One was behind the bar table serving drinks, and the other was most likely in the kitchen. If the latter wasn't, she'd most likely be shopping for meat in the market.

The other two members were unfortunately an enigma to him.

He did hear that one of them used a jewelled sword that held incredible power, but that was about it. The other one… well, he was embarrassed that he knew nothing despite being one of the best intelligence-gatherers of his time. His best 'information' was a cryptic warning from Eau that 'the cardboard boxes have eyes'.

' _Well, best not reminisce too much. Time to place our prisoner somewhere…'_

Looking around a second, Careth spotted a couch nearby.

Walking up to it, he set the woman down and sighed.

He rubbed his hands against each other, and he turned back to face B-Sha, who still was behind the bar table as per usual.

Walking towards the bar table, he finally sat down on his usual bar stool.

"Well, that's done with. Could I get a drink? The usual, please."

B-Sha gave him a thumbs up, and turned to pick up a pint glass.

After a moment, B-Sha passed Careth a pint glass full of a dark amber liquid that he had come to enjoy over the years.

Picking it up and taking a quick gulp, he sighed in pleasure. It was always nice to take a break after a mission.

"Hey, B. Is Fusil done with the preparations yet? It's morning already, and I'm running on energy pills to stay awake at the moment."

B-Sha looked up from the bar and responded:

"Nah. She's still at the supermarket, picking up more eggplants."

Careth hid a wince upon hearing 'eggplants'. He had seen what those demonic things had done to some prisoners, and he just didn't want to think about it.

They were simply that _utterly terrifying_.

"Well, at least we have that covered for the moment. That's great."

Careth sighed, and stared at the wall behind the bar table with his fist on his cheek.

The pint glass slowly emptied with each passing second.

As the glass turned to a quarter-full, B-Sha cut through the silence with a few words.

"Hey, old man…?"

Careth raised his eyebrow in silence, and turned his attention to B-Sha.

With a bored look, he acknowledged B-Sha with a glance.

"Yes?"

"What was Gamindustri like, y'know… well, before everything?"

"Huh?"

A look of surprise flashed through Careth's face as he processed B-Sha's question.

' _Why does she want to know…? I'd best tread lightly and be careful with what info I give her… best find out why she wants to know in the first place.'_

Mulling over it for a second, he decided to reply, his eyes focused on B-Sha's face.

"...Why do you ask…?"

B-Sha scratched her head and looked off to the side, whilst responding:

"Well… all I've ever known is Lastation and Lowee being what… well, what they are now, and Leanbox just surviving on its own. All I've really known is this state of 'war' that Planeptune is in... I want to know what exactly this 'peace' we're fighting for is. I want to know how life was like back then."

With his eyes focused on B-Sha, Careth started to process every single detail that occurred within the few seconds in which she had spoken.

His mind went into overdrive, coming up with a conclusion as quickly as he could.

' _Eyes were looking to the side and she was scratching her head: Signs of embarrassment. Tone of voice was of utmost sincerity. She genuinely just wants to know about it… I'll fill her in then. It's something I can do, so why not?'_

Sighing in resignation, he nodded in response.

"Well… get a chair. This will take a while."

B-Sha's expression lit up like the stars at his words, and she instantly sat down on the stool behind the bar table.

Wait, what?

Since when was there a stool behind the bar table?

He raised his eyebrow in confusion.

Last time he was here… no, he was fairly sure it wasn't there when he walked in.

' _Where did it even come from…?'_

It was best not to ask questions, Careth supposed.

' _That reminds me of something my wife told me quite often… a girl has her ways...'_

He stared at B-Sha, who was obviously excited to hear from one of the oldest people in the Elite-PBSF about how their lives were back then.

Well… this was going to be a bit difficult.

He wasn't particularly fond of telling stories to people that he didn't really consider his family, but he could make an exception here. B-Sha was a nice kid, and she would definitely be a great friend to IF and Compa.

Last he'd heard, he was a pretty good storyteller… but that had been an emotional rollercoaster for both him and IF. He had almost lost control and nearly told her about one of his deeply kept secrets about his experiences in the war.

' _Well, it's nice for kids to know their roots…so let's go for it.'_

"Well… I'm not too good at telling stories, but I'll try. Well, here you go; this is a little something, about the world before 'The Fall'."

* * *

 _About 30 years ago…_

' _Back then, things were pretty simple.'_

A silver haired woman sat behind the bar table, cleaning the aforementioned with a cloth.

Her hair flowed down to her hips, and her blue eyes greatly contrasted her pale skin.

She wore a rather revealing outfit, almost reminiscent of a witch, perhaps.

A black corset, with matching detached sleeves that had blue squares outlining the circumference of the upper arm. Under the corset, she wore a mostly black dress that was mostly blue around her breasts with white and blue highlights spread around.

Her ears twitched, hearing the creak of a door.

She raised her head to speak.

"Welcome back, you two–"

She paused, taking a look at the two that were at the door.

Her face twitched with annoyance.

" **HEY! CLEAN YOURSELVES BEFORE YOU COME IN!"**

A younger looking Careth grimaced alongside with his partner, Eau, their hair stained with blue, sticky goop that had been the byproduct of their questing.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault this time, Fusil! Eau decided to use a combustion spell on the Dogoos for some reason!"

Eau turned accusingly at Careth, giving him a look of mock-indignation.

"Well, _you're_ the one who said that it was a good idea, you twat of a mingebag," Pointing an outstretched finger in accusation at Careth, he continued, "Hey, you hearing me, Fusil? This damn cockeye 'ere said that it would speed things up!"

' _Eau, Fusil and I were stand-in members in the PBSF. We didn't really get jobs often, and neither did we need to substitute often into other squads, so we tended to stay in this bar, and if we got bored, we went out and did some quests from the Basilicom. '_

"It was just a suggestion! You didn't have to listen to me, right?!"

"Okay, okay, calm down you two. I'll turn on the heater, and you two get cleaned up in the bath–"

" **DIBS ON THE BATH FIRST, CARETH! SUCK ON IT!"**

Eau made a beeline for the door behind the bar, practically smashing through it.

"—Ugh. He'll never change."

Careth chuckled.

"I know what you mean, Fusil. We've had to deal with his crap for these past few years now..."

Fusil sighed once again, thinking for a moment, before she spoke with a questioning tone.

"Hey, Careth. How's your wife and child?"

Careth raised his eyebrow, not expecting the question.

"They're doing well… Wish I could see my son more often though. He's growing up to be a fine young man in the PBSF. Last I'd heard, he's fancying some girl. I'm going to be a grandpa soon enough at this rate…"

Fusil blinked once.

Twice.

"...You're being a bit too optimistic there. He's like, what, 13, right?"

"Yeah… something like that. Hope he doesn't get too optimistic and go for it at his age despite it being legal… he's quite mature at his age, but I don't know too much. I did marry quite early too though, so I can't say much for myself."

With an akimbo pose, Fusil sighed once more.

"You young ones are getting more youthful nowadays, huh? Wish I could say the same..."

With a look of indignation, Careth palmed his face.

"You're not that old, Fusil…"

Fusil smiled, closing her eyes and folding her arms in silence.

"Shush. You know nothing about my age."

Raising his arms up in mock-surrender, Careth gave a grin in return.

"Yeah, I know nothing about this maiden's age."

' _Back then… we didn't fight because we needed to.'_

"That's more like it, Careth. Remember, you know nothing at all..." Fusil seemed to give him a glare that told him that he would die if he said otherwise.

' _It was… a time where war was not perpetually on our backs.'_

Careth nervously laughed:

"Haha… okay. I know nothing."

' _Those days… were what'd you call peaceful.'_

"Glad you know. Make sure to remember that."

"I will, Fusil… I will."

' _But now…'_

A voice came from behind the back door.

" **Oi! Can you two stop being so mushy together, and get me some toilet paper?! There's nothing left!"**

Careth signalled Fusil with his hand that he was going to do as asked; the woman in question nodded in return.

"Wait for a bit, alright Eau?"

Careth paced to the back door with a sigh, and opened it.

Fusil sighed, as she watched Careth's figure walk behind the door.

She gave a genuine smile to nobody in particular.

"...Well. This is nice, isn't it? Let's just hope it stays this way…"

' _But obviously, we knew that it wouldn't be that way. It's now… a mere shadow,' Careth paused to give a sombre grin._

' _It's now a mere shadow… of what it used to be.'_

* * *

"Well, with that depressing line out of the way, that's pretty much it was back then. Fusil, Eau and I still work together pretty often. Here's a picture of us from back then for reference."

Careth fished out a piece of what seemed like paper out of his coat and passed it to B-Sha, who snatched it away without hesitation.

B-Sha stared at the picture for a moment.

It was the three of them in the bar, with a younger, unscarred Careth on the right, looking at his revolver, Fusil on the left with her arms folded, and Eau in between them, attempting to pose.

'Attempting' being the keyword. He looked more like a flamboyant imbecile, with his eyebrows raised and arms raised in some sort of 'superhero' pose. It was somewhat reminiscent of what Careth would refer to as a person with 'some sort of 8th grader syndrome'.

B-Sha beamed, before commenting:

"Ohoh! So the old lady looked like that back then. She's pretty," B-Sha pointed at the right side of the picture, "Hey, you looked pretty good too!"

Careth grinned, before making a small pose with his thumb and index finger under his chin.

"Of course. This old man was pretty handsome back in the day."

B-Sha recoiled, making a disgusted look at Careth's ' _glamorous'_ act.

"Bleeehh… Old man, don't do that... It's disturbing."

Careth made a look as well, disgusted with what he had just done.

"Ugh. Yeah. Never doing that again. That's Eau's thing," Hearing a creak from behind, he raised his eyebrow in interest. "Hmm?"

Careth instinctively turned to the door to see a very familiar face.

"Hello…Huh? What's with you two?"

Fusil, whom now looked exactly like how she did in the picture, had walked into the bar with a plastic bag full of eggplants raised behind her back.

' _...She's young again. What…?'_

Careth looked back at B-Sha with a stupefied look on his face.

The same thought seemed to be in their heads, judging from the same glint in their eyes.

"...Has this degenerated into some sort of deranged comedy, B-Sha…? I don't even know anymore."

B-Sha gave a look that befit a fish out of water, before shaking her head in silence.

"...Same here, old man. Same here."

Both of them sighed, and palmed their faces.

"You two have become good friends, huh? I undid the magic because, well, who'd want to see an old lady use eggplants to torture a young woman?"

Careth shivered involuntarily as he took his palm off his face.

"...Noted. Although, I wouldn't want those hellspawns near me in the first place."

"Y-Yup…"

B-Sha shivered frightfully as well, her body practically shaking in fear from the thought of eggplants.

It seemed like all of them knew just how terrifying the purple vegetable could be.

With that small thought passing through Careth's mind, he sniggered inwardly.

While it was strange for the both of them to fear eggplants, Careth didn't really fear the vegetable itself.

He only feared it when it was in the hands of Fusil, unlike his granddaughter, who… well, would have a panic attack and curl up in a corner whenever she saw an eggplant.

Fusil really did torture her with her training, as he had suspected. He didn't even want to know how.

Though if he had to admit, it was rather funny. His granddaughter, whom he would reluctantly admit had incredible potential, even more so than a lot of people he'd seen in his lifetime, would instantaneously run away at the sight at the purple vegetable.

It was one of the reasons she didn't accompany Compa to the supermarket.

He pushed those thoughts aside and got his head back on track.

"Anyways, do you have the stuff prepped?" Careth questioned.

Fusil's eyes shifted, as if taunting Careth, "I do, but I'm supposed to give you a mission briefing alongside with B-Sha right now."

"...What? I just came back. Give me a break, alright?" Careth raised his eyebrow in confusion and tiredness.

"You're getting a mission, no excuses. This is what you signed up for, remember?" Fusil replied mockingly.

A moment of silence.

After a short moment of contemplation, Careth sighed.

"...Screw you, Fusil."

Fusil's lips curled into a mocking smile as Careth finished his brief line.

"Hoh! I didn't know you've gotten over your wife's death already. I'm not accepting the invitation, though. I'm not interested."

"-Guh. That was a low blow, and you know it," Careth massaged his temples before continuing, "Ugh. Fine. What's the mission?"

"Well," Fusil pulled a piece of paper out of nowhere and shoved it in Careth's face. "Why don't you read this and find out?"

Careth plucked the paper out of Fusil's hands, and began to read silently.

After a while, he stopped reading, sighed, and looked back at Fusil.

"...Are you serious? This isn't my forté, so why the hell did Histoire choose me to do this?"

"Hey, old man! Could I take a look?" B-Sha reached from behind the bar table.

"Here," Careth passed the paper along to B-Sha, sighing once again as she took the paper in her hands, "You need to see it anyway."

B-Sha briefly skimmed through over the paper's details, and once she was done, quickly jumped to action.

"Ooh! I can do this! Just let me get my rocket launcher," B-Sha paced to the door at the back of the bar table.

"...What." Careth deadpanned.

"What is it?" B-Sha turned to look at Careth, and innocently blinked.

"...You have a rocket launcher?" Careth had his shaking index finger pointed at B-Sha.

"Yeah, I do! Let me get it."

B-Sha, speaking with that jolly tone, skipped into the back room.

Another moment of silence.

"...She has a rocket launcher. What."

Careth stared at the door in disbelief, as if he were waiting for B-Sha to come back out and say it was a joke.

Turning back to look at Fusil, he picked up his glass from the table, and gulped the rest of its contents down in one go.

He gave a blank stare.

"Fusil. What the hell are we giving the kids nowadays?"

Fusil shrugged her shoulders in response.

"I dunno."

"Goddess forbid... All I got was a bayonet, tracking equipment and a first-aid pack when I first joined… and she gets a _bloody_ rocket launcher. This is totally fair," He briefly glanced at the door. "Yup. _Totally fair_."

Careth's words dripped with sarcasm, his eye twitching every few seconds.

"Well, while you're waiting… I'll go and get the prisoner to my 'chamber'. Have fun, okay?"

In an instant and with a pale blue flash, Fusil warped to the side of the couch and picked up the woman whom laid there unconscious, and teleported with another pale blue flash once more to somewhere else.

Careth blankly stared at where Fusil once stood, before shaking his head lightly with a smile.

' _Forgot she could do that… wait. If she could do that in the first place, why didn't she just teleport in? Ugh, whatever. I'll just get prepped as well…'_

Pulling out his revolver from his leather coat, he placed it on the bar table.

' _This thing has really served me well… hmm. Maybe, just maybe, I should get Iffy a gun too. Feels like she needs one…'_

He propped his leather coat on the table, and began to sort everything out.

A bayonet, complete with leather sheath. Perfect for close combat situations.

Speed loaders for his revolver, all loaded and sorted with different types of ammo.

'Special', 'Incendiary', 'Subsonic', and 'Hollow-point'. Different ammo for different situations.

' _Great. Seems like I've still got a lot of ammo… 28 for subsonic… hmm… I think I can make use of them during this mission.'_

He continued to sort through his equipment.

A roll of steel wire for traps and tying things together.

A box that held needles and thread for suturing wounds or patching up clothing.

A matchbox for fires, and if needed, quick cauterization.

A flask that held spirits for disinfecting wounds.

Some small towels to clean off blood, and to be used in tandem with the spirits to disinfect wounds.

Bandages for obvious reasons.

Energy pills and small Nep Bull vials just in case…

That was all he needed.

Was it?

It felt like he was forgetting something.

' _Eh, probably nothing important. Let's get our head back on track.'_

He sighed.

While he didn't have anything that gave him any sort of capability for destruction, he did make it up with his flexibility… partially.

His revolver, the Nagant M1895 was extremely versatile due to its closed gas-seal system, unlike other revolvers that ran on an open gas-seal system.

Basically, the cylinder moved forward when the gun was cocked in order to close the gap between the cylinder and barrel, resulting in a boost in the muzzle velocity of the round, and it also allowed for the gun to be suppressed.

He did modify and improve it over the decades that he had owned the gun, however. At one point he had rebuilt the entire gun, completely remaking certain parts in order to change the caliber of the gun. It was now approximately one third larger compared to how it was previously.

What used to be a 7.62x38mmR revolver now ran on modified .44 Magnum, which was drastically more powerful than the gun's former caliber.

Technically, it was now a completely different gun since he had remade it. He just preferred to call it by its original name.

He also modified the double-action lever system and the cylinder, so that the hammer pull and trigger pull would be somewhat lighter and more convenient.

The modifications worked perfectly, so he could fire through his entire 7 round cylinder within a few seconds without destroying his wrist.

His modifications also made loading rounds and emptying spent bullet casings easier. Unlike the original model which required the painfully slow use of the gun's built-in extraction rod to eject its spent bullet casings one at a time, the revolver's cylinder could now simply swing out.

Combined with his speedloaders, reloading the weapon was a far quicker affair. The obsoleted extraction rod was naturally removed in this revision.

With all of that in mind, he knew it would be rare for him to shoot so quickly. He preferred to go for one shot at a time.

Obviously, there were some cases in which he had to use everything in his arsenal to survive, but those hadn't happened often.

But of course, there was one particular mission that always came to mind that happened over two decades ago.

He had to fight through an entire squadron of Loweean saboteurs, a desperate battle for survival that forced him to set up traps whilst engaging in a ferocious firefight.

That experience had nearly turned him insane with just how much mental stress he had went through in just the matter of an hour, though it did teach him quite a bit about the importance of keeping a clear head in battle.

Without a clear mind, any skill that you may have had was worthless, and you became useless in battle.

Without a clear mind, you couldn't think of a way to defeat your adversaries. This was why he always reminded himself to keep a clear head.

"Hey, old man— Woah, that's a lot of stuff!"

Careth raised his head and looked at B-Sha. She had walked out of the back room, two ballistic-proof shell cases in her hands, one of which was noticeably smaller than the other. Both looked extremely heavy though, and Careth was a little surprised that B-Sha was able to carry them.

"Hmm? Yeah," Careth slowly inserted his speed loaders back into his leather coat on the table, sorting them into different parts of the coat. "What's in those cases anyway?"

"Some stuff for you that Kei had ordered. She said that you'd appreciate it for this mission."

Careth nodded, signalling for B-Sha to place the things on the other part of the bar table that was unused, instructions that she nodded to and followed.

B-Sha, with her job done, walked back into the back room, leaving Careth all alone.

' _Well, seems like I have everything. I've packed my coat with everything I need… so time to find out what Kei got for me.'_

After making sure that everything was fastened inside his coat, he donned the leather coat once more, and turned to look at the ballistic cases.

Pacing to the front of the bar table that supported the cases, he momentarily paused and wondered what they held.

' _...Let's find out, shall we?'_

Taking a small breath, he slowly opened the first smaller case.

As he saw what the case held…

Disbelief came to his senses.

"Holy shit... Is this what I think it is?"

Atop the foam cushioning that was inside the case were three cuboid packs of plastic explosive about the size of a child's arm, complete with detonator and blasting caps.

"Bloody hell, Kei. You really know how to spoil someone."

Lifting the plastic explosive and placing them aside one by one, he raised his eyebrow at a certain sight.

"There's a note… eh, knowing Kei, she probably put it there to tell me how to use it. She always thinks that we're incapable for some reason."

Careth picked up the folded note, unfolded it and began to read.

* * *

 _Dear E-PBSF members:_

 _Hello there!_

 _I haven't written anything to you guys in a long time since Kei took over your small, secret division within the PBSF, but this is one of the small things that I've had transferred to you all to help you out with your covert missions._

 _I think it should help out with a fairly new mission too, wherein if I remember correctly, it needs you all to 'pacify' a camp of high-profile bandits whom have been attacking trading caravans that hold quite a bit of goods that are very important to Planeptune._

 _This has been detrimental to our trading routes with the nearby towns, exports and imports included. I would deal it with myself, but I've been stuck with too much paperwork to do anything about it._

 _So, with all of this in mind, and though there might only be a handful of you, you've all done many great things to help, so I've prepared something over these four days._

 _As a form of a reward, I had quite a bit of special equipment made and customized to suit all of your needs._

 _Everything is labelled for all of the members, and last I'd heard, we have an old member that re-joined recently, so it was a bit of a scramble to get all of this done._

 _Thankfully, with some reference to his exploits (which I am thoroughly impressed by) I had a weapon made for him that I'm sure that he'll make great use of._

 _Kei suggested on what weapon to give him, by the way. I haven't seen her request anything for a very long time, so I was very surprised when she gave me a call, requesting for a weapon to be made for him. I honestly don't know why she stepped up for this._

 _Also, if he's reading this: I've made some documents for your granddaughters to be able move to and from Leanbox. This is a thank you for what you've done for Planeptune throughout your life._

 _With all of that aside, I sincerely hope all of you will enjoy these, and may they serve you well on the field._

 _May you find Victory,_

 _ **Lady Neptune**_

* * *

"...She remembered. Her handwriting is still as great as ever, it seems- eh? There's something else at the bottom."

He read the italicised words with the paper up close to his face.

' _*P.S. I don't know why, but Green Heart was rather quick to accept my special request. She usually doesn't bother to answer me, so it was a surprise to see her reply so quickly. I think she'd said something along the lines of 'my cute little Ai-chan's daughter is coming?!' or something like that.'_

"...!"

He grinned, knowing just what those words entailed.

"I guess… all the work I've done paid off in the end, huh? Let's go and look at the other case, shall we?"

After placing the plastic explosive back into the case, closing it and placing it aside, he moved on to the next case.

The case was about three-fourths his size, so Careth pondered in silence.

' _...I wonder. If it's made specifically for me… then what could it be?'_

He looked at the small lock that the ballistic case had with apprehension, knowing that it was disallowing him from opening the case itself.

With that in mind, he called for a tiny bit of help.

"B-Sha! This case is locked, so could you get the key for me?"

"Yup, sorry! I forgot to give you the key!" B-Sha ran out from the back room, a key in her hand, with a large, bright yellow and red rocket launcher strapped to her back.

Careth stared at the sight before him for a second, before sighing.

A young girl with a rocket launcher that could most likely annihilate a small town.

Why?

Why was his life so peculiar?

He sighed internally.

"...Much obliged." Careth stretched out his hand for B-Sha.

B-Sha jovially placed the key into Careth's hand, before questioning:

"So, what do you think it is, old man?"

"I dunno... so let's find out," Careth unlocked the lock with the key that B-Sha had given him, and slowly opened it.

His eyebrows raised higher and higher, before he sighed whilst smiling.

"Take a look at that."

"Woah," B-Sha gasped, "I've never seen anyone get this sort of gun before! And with all this extra stuff?"

Once again, atop of the foam that once protected the contents from the elements, sat a waxed and polished wooden rifle, complete with metal parts that were the bolt, internal magazine, sights, and barrel.

This was a Mosin-Nagant, a _pre-war_ weapon, just like his revolver.

It also came with a sling, three loaded clips that could be used to reload the rifle quickly and two finger gloves that were made in some strange material that looked rubbery but after feeling them and putting them on, he found that was not the case.

Its comfort was on par with silk, and with a small test that had him clench and unclench his fists, did not hinder his hand movements whatsoever.

Prodding the rifle with his gloved hand, it seemed that friction was no issue either. There was plenty resistance, so it would most likely never fall out of his hands accidentally.

He grinned in excitement.

"Damn," Staring at the gun and placing his gloved hands over it, his eyes twinkling as he did, "Never knew they still made these."

' _I've always really wanted one… How the heck did they know…?"_

"Old man, this is a really old gun, isn't it? I've never seen this on-field before…" B-Sha questioned, her form next to Careth whom remained unmoving as his attention was completely on the work of art that was before him.

He turned to look at B-Sha with a smile on his face.

"Yeah. This isn't a gun you'll see often. Most guns nowadays have an all metal-construction, like what the Lastation Special Forces use or something, or the laser rifles that our Planeptune military, the PBSF uses. This thing uses actual bullets, and as far as I've heard, is considered a novelty in Planeptune, isn't it?"

"Yup! Nowadays, our guns run on plasma batteries, right? So why did Neptune give you this?"

Careth twitched subtly in response to what B-Sha said.

' _Just 'Neptune'? Eh, doesn't matter. It's probably just one of her little kinks. Let's continue. She's trustworthy, as far as I can tell.'_

"Hmm… it might be because of this." Careth murmured as he pulled his revolver out of his coat, holding it by the barrel. "Here. Take it."

Careth raised his eyebrow, waiting for B-Sha's response.

As if she could not believe what she was seeing, B-Sha's eyes widened in surprise and she instantly snatched the revolver out of his hands.

Now holding the revolver, she looked at it with amazement and wonder, since she had never seen or held anything like it before.

"This is another old gun! It looks weird though. What's with the thing that you put the bullets in? What's this? It doesn't have a magazine either, so how do you use it?"

Careth stared peculiarly at B-Sha whilst his gloved hands took the clips from the case and placed them in his coat.

' _Ugh, this is somehow cute in some weird way… But, eh, let's teach her something.'_

"Here, I'll teach you how to use it," Careth plucked the revolver from the hands of B-Sha and holstered it before continuing with a smile, "Let's go to the gun range down at the back since after all..."

Careth tapped the rifle that now was slung behind his back.

"I need to test this Mosin out as well. You up for some shooting?"

With a set of eyes that shone so bright in excitement, B-Sha rejoiced:

"Alright!" She fistpumped with unbridled excitedment. "I finally get to see how these things work!"

Careth grinned upon seeing B-Sha's childish elation.

He was, at last, finally going to teach someone a thing or two about old firearms.

"You're going to see and learn a lot more than that, B… a whole lot more."

* * *

Within an underground firing range, a man stood.

He briefly looked around.

Metal. White.

A standard range, with close to no decorations that would make it special.

A target post.

A doll that had its face painted in red.

The man took aim with the rifle.

' **BANG!'**

Without thinking about compensation, he fired.

' **Clink, clink.'**

The casing fell to the ground next to him, and at the same time, the doll that was approximately 40 metres away falling along with it.

The ballistic gel that was the 'head' of the doll was split into two.

The man smiled, feeling a little rattled by the force that just forced itself upon his shoulder.

"...Right between the eyes. Guess I still have it. Not bad, me."

The girl who was beside him, dressed in an orange dress along with red gloves pouted as he smirked to himself.

"Old man! You said that you'll let me use that cylinder-gun! You've been using that gun for 20 minutes now..."

Careth chuckled, a small sense of idiocy taking ahold of his thoughts.

Hearing B-Sha whine childishly somehow brought a nostalgic smile to his face.

It really reminded him of Compa when she was a lot younger- but he remembered, right at that moment, it really wasn't the time to reminisce.

"Ah, sorry," He pulled his revolver out of his coat. "Here you go."

Holding the revolver by the barrel, he passed the gun along to B-Sha, whom took it with a smile on her face.

"Thank you! So… how do I use it? Do I do this… or do I do that… uh…? Wuh...?"

Slinging the rifle over his back, he chuckled softly at B-Sha's confusion.

He found it kind of adorable. In a way, it was rather endearing.

' _Well, let's help her.'_

Breaking out of his thoughts, he patted B-Sha's shoulder and instructed her.

"Here," He bent over B-Sha's shoulder and pointed towards the doll-target. "You just aim at the target with the sights and pull the trigger. Careful though, until you're ready to fire, keep your fingers out of the guard. Trigger discipline is important."

He smiled before continuing.

"There's also a whole lot else to remember. I'll briefly go over the things that you have to remember when handling these things. Remember, this isn't a laser rifle. You're not shooting recoilless plasma from a battery. You're shooting actual bullets that have a kick to them. An explosion, albeit a tiny one, is literally happening in your hands. Don't forget that."

Double-action revolvers were really convenient compared to single-action revolvers in Careth's opinion.

There was no need to pull the hammer before firing. However, the trigger pull was rather heavy for anyone who was not used to it.

B-Sha, whom now aimed at the doll target at the back of the range, seemed to struggle with that very trigger pull.

"...Like this— w-woah?!"

' **BANG!'**

The deafening sound of pressurized gases leaving the muzzle of the revolver reverberated throughout the firing range.

The powerful recoil that had came along with firing the revolver sent it flying from B-Sha's hands and soaring away.

After a brief moment, it landed onto the ground with a sickening clack.

After the noise of the revolver faded from the room, Careth bent over and laughed heartily, his laughs echoing throughout the underground range.

"Hahaha! What did I say, B?"

"Wuh-?" B-Sha looked dazed and out of it, before her eyes snapped back into clarity. "H-Hey! What happened?!"

Clearing his eyes and bending over to pick up the revolver, he grinned at B-Sha before his grin softened into a somewhat nostalgic yet fatherly smile.

' _Heh… If only I had the chance to teach my kid how to handle guns, huh…?'_

For a brief moment, he felt sorrow.

Regret.

His smile curled into one of bitter remorse.

"E-Eh?! Why are you looking at me like that?!"

Careth snapped back to reality.

"-Ah. Sorry. Just remembered something."

B-Sha gave Careth a look of worry.

"Old man… you looked sad for a bit there. You okay?"

"Y-Yeah. I'm okay. Nothing going on here," He paused to think. "Anyway, remember this. Always treat the gun as if it's loaded. Even if you just took out the bullets from the cylinder, magazine and whatever, you still have to treat it as if it's loaded. Finally," He took a breath. "This is something you have to keep in mind at all times, even with your rocket launcher: never point at things you don't want to shoot, ergo, destroy. Never forget that."

B-Sha nodded fervently in response.

"Understood. I'll remember this!"

Careth grinned, joy filling his veins as he heard B-Sha's response.

' _Glad to see someone listening for once.'_

"So," Careth continued with his lecture. "What you felt there was the recoil. Ever felt anything like that before, perhaps with your rocket launcher?"

"Nope! My rocket launcher just has to worry about backblast, but other than that, I don't really feel anything."

That explained quite a bit. Careth did wonder how exactly she handled the rocket launcher, especially since it looked like it had quite an incredible amount of destruction capability, and with it, recoil.

"I see… hmm, why did you pick a rocket launcher, anyway?"

B-Sha tilted her head in confusion.

"Hah? What do you mean?"

With a somewhat exasperated tone, Careth continued his question.

"Why did you choose a rocket launcher as a weapon?"

"Ah!" She rubbed the back of her head in minor embarrassment. "Well… it looked cool."

Careth raised his eyebrow, somewhat disappointed with what B-Sha had said.

"...Not for its practical applications?"

B-Sha beamed.

"Nope! Not at all!"

' _Seriously…?'_

Careth folded his arms.

"B. You need to think about what your weapons do."

"Eh…? What about it?"

"Rocket launchers are very useful in combat, B. I'll give you a small guidebook later. That aside, what do your rockets run on?"

B-Sha nodded in acceptance whilst putting her finger on her lip, thinking for a bit before coming to a conclusion.

"I understand, old man. And for my rocket launcher… It's some weird magic thing… I can control the amount of damage by adjusting the magic energy I use into my rockets."

Careth sighed, just hearing 'magic' made him feel a little bad about himself.

He was born without any capacity for magic, so he couldn't do anything that a magic-user could, such as raise barriers or manipulate some forms of matter.

' _...I really hate my disability sometimes.'_

Well, it wasn't a disability per se. It just felt that way because even though most people couldn't use magic, it seemed like most of his peers in the elite forces could.

"Why does your face look like that, old man?"

B-Sha questioned.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"You always look so sad, old man. Even when you smile, it just… I don't know how to put it…" She paused to think, before a metaphorical lightbulb lit up in her head. "Ah! What I mean is that it just 'feels' sad."

' _She's sharp. Well… I can't be mad at her… she reminds me too much of both Compa and Iffy, in a way.'_

"Old man, you've been spacing out for a bit, you okay?"

Careth let out a breath that he hadn't known that he was holding.

"Yeah," He blinked. "Yeah. I'm fine. Hey, B. I have a question for you."

B-Sha looked peculiarly at Careth.

"Hmm?"

"What do you want to be? Your dream or dreams for the future, I mean."

B-Sha rubbed the back of her head embarrassedly.

"Well… it's a little embarrassing… but... I want to be a hero. That's why I agreed to joining the Gold Third..."

Careth gave a small grin that was in response, knowing just what that entailed.

"A very impressive dream you have, B." He continued to grin, staring at B-Sha in the eye, whom looked back embarrassedly. "A very impressive dream."

Hearing Careth's response, B-Sha's face reddened a little, her embarrassment somehow amplified by the fact that he hadn't made fun of her.

"You really think so?! It's childish and hypocritical, though… at least that's what the others tell me."

Careth's grin softened to one of understanding, almost reminiscent of a father that would always guide and help his child. He knew what exactly she meant by 'childish and hypocritical.'

"Heh," He rubbed his nose. "They don't know what they're talking about, B. Always keep holding onto that dream, it'll serve you well no matter what you face. Just—"

He momentarily hesitated, knowing that whatever he was going to say next would most likely influence B-Sha's actions — be it good or bad.

Being a hero wasn't all that it was built up to be in the world they lived in. Despite that, Careth knew that she meant well, so he couldn't exactly just disprove her.

The life of a hero was someone who fought for others instead of themselves; they valued others more than themselves.

It was an existence that was based around helping the people around the 'hero'.

What could he do in order to make sure that she didn't sacrifice herself for nothing?

What could he say?

… _.You know, Careth._

Careth's eyes widened slightly, remembering words that someone told him before—

 _The people back home still care for you. You can't just rush in to save everyone you can. You'll die that way. What will they think if you die? Don't forget about them._

Careth gave a small, unnoticeable look of realization.

' _Ah. I see. That's what I need to say.'_

Careth now smiled with nostalgia in mind, knowing what exactly he needed to say.

"—Don't forget to also fight for yourself as well, alright?"

B-Sha's expression brightened, her form no longer synonymous with any type of unease.

She nodded fervently.

"I definitely will, old man!"

* * *

When IF opened her eyes, and noticed that she was on her soft, cosy bed, she knew that something was definitely off.

When did she doze off?

How was she on her bed?

"W-What…? W-When did I-"

She didn't remember going to bed.

So why was she laying here, resting up from yesterday…?

' _No,'_ she thought, it was more like today, since she most likely played that game on her PC till past midnight, as her body's still somewhat exhausted state seemed to tell her.

It was unlikely that she had slept for an entire day either. If she did, Deco would be rolling around in her grave, having taught her that sleeping too much was bad for anyone's health, no matter who they were.

Somehow, for some unknown reason...

It was incredibly comfy as well.

Too comfortable.

It was too warm.

Wait, why did she feel like something was wrapped around her chest and stomach?

There was something soft pushing up against her back too.

The bindings just felt… warm.

Comforting.

' _This… just feels nice. I really wish I could feel this way forever…"_

She truly did. Things just hadn't been so simple these past few days.

Careth's instructions, Kei's mission, meeting Plutia…

She really felt like she wanted to go back to the old days where she was with Deco, back where all that she had was just simple, harmless fun.

She smiled in her remembrance- but despite it, she knew.

' _I would never give this up. Compa, Careth… and Plutia, even...'_

With that thought, a metaphorical lightbulb lit up in her head.

' _Wait… don't I need to get up soon for work…? I've been too caught up in my thoughts here, and I never really found out what's holding me this way either…'_

She turned her head back to see- wait, Compa?!

Her eyes widened in realization, and her face red, as the current situation finally dawned upon IF: Compa was hugging IF in her sleep.

No, that wasn't the most important thing.

What the most important thing was-

' _ **Why is Compa in my bed?!'**_

IF's mind and heart raced to figure out why exactly they were together, alone on her bed.

The feeling of her arms wrapped around her body, the feeling of those two soft mounds being pushed upon her back…

It was just… incredible—

'— _Woah, slow down there IF. Let's think.'_

There had to be a reason for this.

There had to be a reason… right?

' _Okay… Let's think about what could've happened.'_

Did she accidentally do something in her tiredness?

Did she… perhaps, confess her love to Compa accidentally?

No, that was going a little bit too far. She wouldn't do such a thing even if she was _that_ tired.

It was a secret that she wanted to keep as long as she lived. After all, she didn't want to ruin their current relationship...

' _...Time to think about this a little more rationally. Calm down, IF. You didn't endure purple hell for nothing…'_

She shivered involuntarily despite the comforting warmth that she felt. Since her training with the blacksmith, she hadn't looked at an eggplant the same again.

' _...Alright. Let's not think about that. Trace back your steps, IF. Trace back your steps.'_

She closed her eyes and thought carefully. What had she done since coming home yesterday?

She ate dinner… went back to her room and played _that_ game and met up with Vert in her room… and after that…

IF sifted through her mind's crevasse, trying to find anything that could tell her what exactly had happened.

She couldn't think of anything else. With that, she placed her palm over her face.

' _Everything after that is a blank... I must've dozed off then.'_

IF sighed, and decided that she had better get ready, and took her palm off her visage.

With great care, she tried to tear herself away from Compa's grasp, despite herself wanting to stay in it as long as she could.

As she turned her back to Compa, she heard a voice that made her eyes widen even further than it ever had today.

She stopped in silence.

"...Ai-chan."

The voice that belonged to the woman that IF yearned to be together with for eternity had then called out to her, with a soft, begging tone.

Untold words were shared between IF and Compa in that moment.

They both knew that this was the moment that they had to listen to one another.

They both had to listen to each other's hearts.

"...Compa."

IF knew that the words that Compa had left unsaid in that moment were-

' _Stay with me, IF. I need you.'_

IF smiled softly in this realization, her eyes softening in turn.

At this very moment, she did what she always did.

With that floaty feeling in her heart-

She did what she felt was right.

"I'll stay, Compa."

She fell back onto the bed, the warmth slowly overtaking her.

The warmth grew, and she was bound yet again by her choice.

She then turned and faced the source of her warmth.

She decided to return the favor.

IF wrapped her arms around Compa, hugging her close and tight.

Compa seemed shocked, her eyes widening for a moment, before her expression softened.

' _I'll stay here as long as possible, Compa...'_

As IF lay there, with Compa in her arms…

She figured that she would stay together with her for as long as possible.

There wasn't much to do today, anyway.

She knew, that despite it all...

This was where she needed to be.

The two, laid on the bed together in each other's arms serenely...

Shared a soft, content smile.


End file.
